Well, thread lapping was in Vogue at the time, and more cost effective…
I wonder what the cost and availability of cork was in England at that time, certainly had to cost far more than some local thread and wax, not to mention the labor.
Loren
I suspect that Rudall ,Rose & Carte considered that wooden (unreinforced ) tenons were not strong enough to use cork on . There are those who consider that cork is likelier to cause tenon splits than thread ,as it can expand , when warmed , for example .
That’s what those rings are for! 
Seriously, cork compresses, more than it expands, after installation. We don’t have anyway of knowing what R,R&C thought, unless someone can dig up some literature from them on the topic.
Regardless of what they did or didn’t think, the fact is that cork has been used for the application in question for many years now, and has been proven safe over the long haul, so I don’t see where this notion that it causes problems comes from.
Loren
All of the many flutes I have had with cracked tenons have had one thing in common .Rings ! Sorry for the lack of " emoticons " .I find them childish / American . No doubt I shall get used to them as the " New American Century " progresses ! ,along with your great leader’s crusade .
I suspect that cork is sometimes regarded as more unsafe because meddlers ( like me ) tend to fit it too tight .
funny, charles nicholson wrote (and many others at the time apparently believed) that cork lapping tended to “deaden” the flute tone. Ergo the strings. String lapping tends to, when expading to moisture, jam the joint more thoroughly than cork. And, when it dries back down, it doesn’t shrink from the joint, but rather away from the tenon. Ergo, the thread lap tends to “spin” in place and the tenon doesn’t separate easily.
While cork will bind (stick, mostly) it will give (sometimes with considerable force applied!). But, it will inevitably tear up the cork, needing replacement.
The silver sockets, Andrew, you should know was a Monzani think (he had the patent on the design). Threading didn’t seat well and cork slid into the metal quite well, and didn’t suffer the joint. No give. Rings on wood sockets are meant to prevent splitting from over-expansion(keep the crack local rather than run up the whole flute part!), not to allow a too-tight fit, which is disasterous.
Silver-lined sockets are best, yes, to protect the wood. I wonder, though, on the caliber of sound with all that metal here and there. My own Monzani flutes (I have two…far fewer than Andrew!) sound wonderful, nevertheless. And cracking at the outside of the sockets from wood shrinking onto the unforgiving silver are somewhat common as well. That’s why we have so many barrel cracks!
dm
I can’t say I associate cracking with silver Monzani style joints .I do tend to find Monzanis in good condition , but that may be because people haven’t wanted to use them much ,because , perhaps of changing pitch , or the playing qualities of the particular flute .Barrels will get shrinkage cracks anyway in time ,unless rebored .
Well, I’ve been running the old girl through the paces.
I’m really quite pleased with it. It has smallish holes so has good economy of air.
It requires a much more focused embouchre than any flute I’ve ever played (Olwell bamboo, M&E R&R, Seery, Copley, Doyle or Healy fifes).
The first few days I was afraid it would be sort of a quiet, parlor kind of flute. I poked my Doyle headjoint on it and it was markedly louder and clearer (I actually made a phone call to see what a new headjoint would cost).
Tonight I decided to really try and focus my airstream…I mean really focus. The result was astounding. The sound was really powerful and clean. This is going to be a great flute if I don’t wear my cheek muscles out. I don’t even think I’ve scratched the surface of what it can do.
I guess the take-home message is never to judge a flute until you’ve given it time to teach you what it wants.
Doc
I found the same thing with my old german flute - once I got the embouchure right it was a much more powerful beast.
I’m glad you’re enjoying you new to you flute!
Eric