Hello.
Can anyone help date this old penny whistle? Any help would be appreciated!
Interesting! No idea, but I’d guess circa 1900. I like the labeled toneholes. And the logo, whatever it is - a ship? a basket?
I also note that G. Clark**'s** is not R. Clarke. Does it have a wooden block, or a lead block, or a flat metal windway like a Shaw? I’m guesing the latter.
I think the logo is meant to be a crown.
Wood, if it’s like the one I’ve seen.
I restored one of these not long ago. I haven’t a clue as to the age or anything about the maker (except it wasn’t Robert Clarke).
Best wishes,
Jerry
It’s a crown and it has a wooden block. Also has PAT. 88 or 83 stamped on it if that helps anyone to date it. Thanks for the responses!
If you would like to date this whistle, may I suggest making introductions through a common acquaintance, finding out where the whistle hangs out and “accidently” bumping into the whistle, maybe at a bookstore, grocery store, or someplace similar, inviting the whistles to join you for coffee, then working your way up to lunch or a civic event. Just because a whistle looks beautiful doesn’t mean the whistle is beautiful inside. Didn’t your Mom teach you anything?
lol…Thanks for the suggestions. I never dated a whistle before and I’m kinda shy so thought I would ask. 
whistles are very forward…
you’ll know where ya stand early on
Me too
The only antique whistle maker I’ve been able to track down is Barnett Samuel (later “… and Sons”). They sold a huge variety of musical instruments, most of which would have been made for them by various craftsmen and imprinted with the company’s label.
Eventually, they distributed a version of a gramophone that was so hugely successful, they decided to transform the business into a company that produced and distributed the new recorded music. They wanted a name that gave a sense that it was the place huge numbers of people would flock to, so they picked a name that rhymes with “Mecca.”
There are many old whistles with “Dulcet” and/or “in tune” in the logo, but I’ve never been able to track down any information about them. And of course, there are old Clarkes and Generations. Before the mid 'fifties, the Generations were similar to other antique whistles in that they had a metal fipple plug, possibly poured lead.
Your whistle is unusual, as it’s a conical, rolled and soldered whistle that appears to be of the same vintage as early Clarkes, rather than a cylindrical whistle as are most others of the same age. I’ve seen many of the other whistles I mentioned, but that’s only the second of this type I’ve seen.
Best wishes,
Jerry
Very interesting. Not the whistle for me though - I wouldn’t be able to read the print on the labeled toneholes whilst playing what with my long-sightedness.
I was going to say ‘did you try chocolate and roses?’ but I’ll get my coat now, will I?
I thought the Gumbys preferred chrymanthesums.
Whoops, a bit late to this one. Has she got a sister, then?
Thanks to everyone who has posted. I don’t play the tin whistle and never even heard of them until a couple of days ago. I purchased this whistle at an estate auction and they were selling it as a piccolo. I’m going to list the whistle on ebay so I was trying to get as much information on it before doing so. If anyone knows what the value of this whistle or what a decent price to list it at I would appreciate it. I hope this is not out of line for this forum and if so I apologize.
Just so we could all (scream, say awwwww, be envious, or maybe even smirk), could you please tell us what you paid for this whistle at the estate sale?
(I have no idea what this whistle is worth but someone will. Every so often someone finds something great at a yard sale, second hand store, or in the garbage. We’re nosey.)
A G. Clark’s whistle almost identical to yours in question (G. Clark, labeled tone holes etc.) was sold recently on Ebay. The only other one I’ve ever seen before is one that sold on eBay about 3 years ago. I tried to find the listings but can’t seem to track them down right now. I think the most recent G. Clark was incorrectly listed as an antique Robert Clarke whistle. Maybe someone on this forum purchased it? I thought the labeled tone hole feature was interesting, it made me think it was to be used as a “training” whistle.
Yours seems to be in much better condition than the one I saw sell on eBay recently, which sold for around $20.00 USD. This may be due to the fact that it wasn’t properly listed (bad exposure to potential buyers) and one may have required a tetanus shot to play the eBay whistle (It appeared to be very rusty)
This has nothing to do with your whistle, or the value but I just purchased an old whistle by JH London (in C) on ebay for around $40. I just thought it was kind of interesting to have in the whistle drawer.
When you do decide to list it on eBay, it wouldn’t hurt to put an ad up on the marketplace here to let collectors know.
I don’t mind… They put the whistle up and tried to get an opening bid but nobody was biting which is typical as everyone tries to get the lowest opening bid as possible. Well they got down to $5 and still no bids, I was waiting for the $2 minimum bid to start bidding but before I could they decided to throw in some old magazines that I wanted as well so the bidding started and I ended up winning the 2 magazines that I wanted and the whistle for $7 plus a 10% buyers premium and then sales tax on top of that, so a total of around $8 for the whistle and two magazines. Like I said I never heard of a tin whistle before and they were selling it as a piccolo. I knew it wasn’t a piccolo but I thought maybe it was an old toy recorder and it was marked so I thought it was worth something. I was just happy to get the two magazines I wanted for the $7.
Condition wise there is no rust at all on the whistle. Looks like someone bought it and just put it in a drawer or something. I’d like to price it where I could get the most value for it but I don’t want to price it too high and never sell it. I’ll definitely post the listing in the marketplace when I decide on a price to list it at.