there’s a LONG story to this wee lass…suffice it to say that when Igot it (for an unmentionable price…let’s just say the $$ jingled..not folded)
it was DARK** brown..almost black, cracked horrendously, EVER joint was ruined and unuseable..all ivory rings but one were gone…the third section was literally in 3 large pieces!!
I had forgotten ALL about it…it was little more than kindling…so in an attemptto avoid REAL work and procrastinate today (I was supposed to be turning a few whistles and a set of drones) I decided to “renovate” this old girl.
I repaired/replaced all the joints, replaced the ivory rings with antler, cleaned the bore, repaired all cracks ..re-finished it…and VOILA’!!
IT’S ALIVE!! ALIVE!!! MOOOWAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
I BELIEVE it was made in Philadelphia…but I’m not sure when or by whom. Any ideas??
That’s amazing! In the first pic. it looks just like a flute. I assume, after a little work, in pictures two and three it looks just like a set of pipes, but then you transform it into three whistles!
Nano…it plays pretty well..I’m not really* a good judge as I am not a flute player. But I have a sweetheart flute and this sounds better than that…actually…I "restored: it by about 3:00pm today..I’ve been playing a bit here and there..and maybe it’s my embrochure..but it’s sounding sweeter by the hour.You’ll have to come on over and give it a try..see what a real flute player can make of it…
..p.s…you think it was tough turning the flute into three whistles? You should see what I do with highland pipes! heh..heh..heh
Oh it’s certainlyboxwood alright..no doubt…and DAMN fine boxwood to boot! It’s got incredible tiger stripe figuring. And there’sno doubt it’s really old.I know this sounds silly..but it smells old. I’ve handled many really old boxwood instruments and worked on them…and there’s a certain smell they get past 200 years…I’ve a guess this MIGHT me 18th century…
Hi,
That was a clean repair!
I know what you mean about the musky smell my old boxwood flute smelled pretty bad when I first got it. I recently coated the bore with store bought bore oil. This helped the smell and improved the sound quite a bit! At first I thought it was me… Jon
If it is 18th c., it would have to be the last decade or so. More likely, though, with those extra keys, it’s early 19th. What is its pitch? This would really help you date it – American early flutes in the early 19th tend to be higher pitched than modern flutes (A445 or 50ish), rather than lower. If it’s down about A430, then you might have something pre-19th. If it’s in modern pitch pretty accurately, then it’s much more recent, smell notwithstanding.
Pretty, though.
Gordon
That’s what got me stumped. The bore design is Baroque, but the keys look 19th century (do they have purse pads?). Unfortunately the D# key is broken, but i wonder if it was square like a traverso’s.
Probably not, since the other keys aren’t; I’ve never seen a flute with a square key and then round ones. By the time multiple keys were added, most Eb/D# keys were round as well. The traverso bore design hung around for quite awhile into the 19th century. I still think the pitch would be the best indicator of its age, outside, of course, of a serial number and a maker’s mark. If you check out used flute sites, like Vintage in Philly, US, there are alot of one to four key flutes made in the states early in that century that look alot like this one. For early flute playing, though, they’re of little use, since most are pitched higher than a modern A.
Yes, but Davey, that’s what’s got me thinking this isn’t an old flute at all. Playing at A440 was not settled, really, until almost the 20th century. So, by old, it might be only around a century. It also might be a very badly-maintained replica you brought back to life, made sometime in the past 30 or so years.
In any case, it’s pretty and I’m glad it’s playing well now.
Gordon
Yep..as soon as I determined it was playing in concert pitch I can to the same realization. There WAS a maker’s mark..but that was barely legible, and it wasdestroyed (by myself) in the restoration process. It was made in philadelphia..by “miller” ?? I THINK I’m recalling that correctly!
The bottom key, by the way, IS round..not square, the embrochure is not round..it is oval..slightly so…and the boxwood is of excellent quality…and oh yeah..this poor flute had seen some SERIOUS mistreatment. Well…it has a loving home now.
