There is this one by the same seller.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Antique-Silver-Keyed-Wooden-French-Flute_W0QQitemZ150119127907
Wowsers. Where’s the “panting” emoticon when I need it?
Whew nearly four grand in pounds, that would be about $20,000 in dollars 
Winning bid: GBP 3,867.87
(Approximately US $7,721.43)
we’re working on it…
Sorry Jon! 
But it would probably be as cold as a Walrus’s tusk, feel like Jack’s cement flute and sound like an Elephant dying!
So it is probably for the best!
$7k is a good chunk of change, but a good price for that flute. (Out of my league…) $7k would buy a real nice R&R!
Yeah, I was drooling over it on eBay too - went for less than the £5-6k I expected!
Interestingly, it is very similar to the Monzani 10-key #3070 used by Stephen Preston on his “Music for Two Flutes” album (Amon Ra Records, 1983, Finchcocks Series No.7 SAR 11 on vinyl, I believe now available on CD) - a must have album (together with his solo previous one) for any period enthusiast - or any of us, really!
Re: the debate on sound - Preston’s one sounds pretty good to me! But then he is only one of the best flautists on the planet. (One of my three Flute Gods, with J-M V and M M!!!) Get that Kohler “Valse des Fleurs”!
Incidentally, my own first 8-key flute, some 30 years ago, was a wooden Monzani from the 1820s. When I traded it to Paul Davies in part-exchange for my beloved R&R he commented it was a “dilettante’s flute”. Nice, but not the real mustard, at least for ITM. That said, it stood me in good stead because it was not an easy flute and I had to work hard on it, which, transferring from Boehm, was a good thing. It was absolutely necessary to vent the Eb F# and Cnat keys where appropriate, and I mostly do so to this day, which, while not quite so vital on my R&R, is still better than not. I really miss my keys if I pick up a keyless, and I really think the Eb key should be a basic requirement!
I’ll try and get a scan of the 2 Flute album cover and post it in due course.
Regards,
Jem.
Oh yes, and on one visit to Paul Davies in the late 80s I was fortunate enough to be able to (try to) play a stunning ivory baroque flute in near perfect condition (anonymous, I think, but not sure) he had in at the time - it was easily the most responsive instrument I have ever picked up, with a lovely rich, clear tone, though of course that could be down to craftsmanship and design as much as material. As I recall it was at cA=415 and, although I am no Baroque specialist by any stretch of the imagination, even for me it went through a chromatic scale with all the cross fingerings (as far as I knew them) with remarkably good intonation. I believe Paul sold it to a Period specialist professional in Norway for about £4000 at 1980s price levels!
Ah well - as you can tell, this flute-lust thing doesn’t let go, even in distant memories! I’d love to know what happened to that flute/where it is now!
Sigh.
Jem.
Interesting - cos I just don’t like it! Each to their own I know, but it looks a bit gaudy to me - you know? (quite apart from any dodgy ethical considerations - I mean, would it be okay to wear a leopard skin coat just because it was an antique?).
Cheers G
I’m 1000 percent for protecting animals, but I would wear the leopard coat, not because its antique, but because it’s there.
As long as leopards are protected, that is. Finally everything is food for everything else. A fellow once made me the gift of a human skull cap, the last thing I wanted, but I couldn’t get rid of it because it had belonged to a very important Lama. I was living in Nepal at the time. After a while I used it as an ashtray, then as a tea cup… There was no more symbolism, just this useful concave thing.
An ivory flute would be okay with me if it was a good flute. Guess I wouldn’t play it at the Greenpeace picnic, though.
Good to see prices are still rising…it probably would feel like a cement flute…Jack’s concrete flute will probably feel better though…hmmm, labour at 13p/hr…~ 7K…about right…
Perfect for playing at a PETA revival, though, especially with a nice leopardskin cape…
jemtheflute
Interestingly, it is very similar to the Monzani 10-key #3070 used by Stephen Preston on his “Music for Two Flutes” album (Amon Ra Records, 1983, Finchcocks Series No.7 SAR 11 on vinyl, I believe now available on CD) - a must have album (together with his solo previous one) for any period enthusiast - or any of us, really!
Sound samples available from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/recsradio/radio/B00000203S/ref=pd_krex_dp_a/103-4914817-5702263
All the Best!
Jordan
Hi folks.
Ahh, Jordan has beaten me to it - as well actually (Thanks!), as I’ve just discovered I haven’t got a means of/my computer skills aren’t up to posting images here - if anyone can advise me how or host 'em, I’ve done some closer ups of the vinyl LP album cover which may show better detail than Jordan’s whole cover pic - of course I could e-mail them to anyone who asks or who CAN post them for me…
Re: the Ivory ethics and aesthetics debate….
I’m afraid I’m a bit baffled by all this politically correct angst. If you hear, without seeing the instrument, a recording which sounds beautiful to you, can you then, without hypocrisy, deny its beauty if you subsequently discover the instrument is of concrete, or of ivory or some other material it would now be unethical to use or which doesn’t meet your prejudices? There is some rather solipsistic and woolly (mammoth?) thinking going on here. It is a bit like saying that we should not appreciate art born out of, for example, The Holocaust (or any other tragedy of any scale), because the (terribly wrong) experiences which inspired the artist should never have been allowed to happen. Wonderful and inspiring things of many kinds are often born out of circumstances which we would never condone and would strive to prevent if we could; yet we do not in general reject the enriching things so engendered. Rather, we usually welcome them as being a redeeming good, however poignant.
If you chose not to own such an item because of your moral standpoint, fair enough. However, to deny the beauty of the material and of the craftsmanship which shaped it, or indeed (if it is actually beautiful) the sound of an historic ivory flute simply because one rejects the means by which the raw material became available merely self-belittles and diminishes the denier without achieving anything for the creatures that died 150-200 years ago, or indeed for the conservation of their descendents. Whilst recognizing and deprecating the errors of the past, the point is surely to learn from them and ameliorate our present and future behaviour, not to beat ourselves up (or make meaningless and false apologies) over events we had and could have had no control over, when circumstances, knowledge and mores were not ours. I think we serve the unwitting and doubtless unwilling sources of antique ivory artefacts better, more respectfully, if we appreciate at face value the use made of their remains as it can now be seen or heard.
Sermon over!!!
I wonder, on a slightly different tack, if Mr. Preston’s opinion on the playing qualities of ivory could be elicited?
Best to all,
Jem.
Jem,
The is a thread by Gary Kelly for you…Guide to Posting Images
Hrm… Jon, I know how much you love working in delrin, but I wonder if you could approximate that look (once you’re up and running with the keys that is) by making a flute out of white delrin or faux ivory?
Many thanks Denny - and Gary Kelly.
Yur we go…
That seems to work.
Live and learn!
Thanks again.
Jem.