Now here is a nice flute. Love the rings.
If only… 
(and it is not firewood!)
Surely this one takes the prize for being the purest of firewood, six cracks to the flute and some of these to the body, broken key mounts, some mounts repaired?? damage to keys, a basket-case,
Well then, just throw it in burn the bugger…
Very pretty, done up this would look fantastic, but I suppose collectors and players look from a different perspective. Would a full restoration to playing condition and clean reduce it’s antique value?
Rob
No, I would think that it would increase it’s value. It all depends if the flute is altered or not. Of course, if you had Mr. Wilkes alter it, like bring it in tune, then the value might go up.
many Monzani flutes (this one is fairly early…c.1823, i believe) weren’t too bad a player. Some were, but many were not.
Monzani flutes are very lovely, typically, especially the key work. Exquisite looking, albeit impractical. They had little screws to put the leather flat pads into place. Often the cups, like the later Hudson keys, screwed into the shanks above them, purportedly to making pad-changing easier.
The elaborate rings mean it was a flute for someone special. Most times the shop did basic machine-turned rings with basic grooves.
Monzani (and partner Henry Hill) also had their silversmith marks registered, so they did their own key/band work (bands in Britain are called “mounts”).
The hallmark stamping on the ring (which you can see the “HH/TM” mark for Henry Hill / Teobald Monzani) will tell you precisely what year it was made. I have a booklet at home with many of the Monzani flutes sold over the years and their markings. Anyone who gets this flute, let me know and I can place it nicely.
And i don’t think it’s rosewood, which was pretty inferior at the time, beneath even Boxwood.
I imagine it’s among the first shipments of cocus that came from the colonies in Jamaica and such. Many flutes pre-1810 were of boxwood or ebony. The upper-echelon makers, such as Monzani and Astor, began making the first of the cocus flutes since they had the access to the king’s stock coming overseas.
That’s a working theory, of course…
but I own the oldest Rudall Rose extant…and it’s made of ebony.
hmmm
i wanted to add…
the photos don’t show you a very very beautiful Monzani trademark: the sockets are lined in silver. That’s why the left-hand is a female and the barrel is male…unlike most other flutes. Monzani thought it drained better that way.
He was one of the first to use corked tenons (you can see it on the right-hand piece on this flute). The socket linings were a patent that Monzani had. Brilliant stuff meant to prevent (although not well it turns out) cracking.
dm
hmmm…
on additional look…interesting thing on this flute…
most Monzani flutes had an integral right-hand (subheart) and foot section. All one piece.
This one is in two parts.
Very very different for an early Monzani.
neat