Today on my way home from work I stopped into a little hole in the wall music shop and paid $30 for an old brass whistle. Upon close inspection I realized it had apparently been played for years and I’d be darned if the whistle wasn’t older than me (17 years). Not only that, it plays beautifully, I’d say even better than my Water Weasel if it wasn’t a bit sharp.
Now I just need to identify it. On the front of the tube it has three areas with writing on them. The top is indecipherable except for a large V. Below that it says something which looked like Madhu Bam… under a magnifying glass, and below that it has the key, which is D. If anyone knows anything about this, I’d be very interested to hear, it was a very pleasant surprise to find such a gem. Thanks!
That is a type of whistle that has been made at least since the first half of the nineteenth century. There have been a great many makers of such whistles, including Generation up to the time they went to the injection molded whistleheads and Hohner, which to my knowledge is the recognizable company that made them most recently. There are whistles like that still being made in India and Pakistan, and who knows, perhaps elsewhere, too. I would be surprised if the maker of that particular whistle could be identified directly, though.
Best wishes,
Jerry
Oh cool, thank you Mr. Freeman. I think the guy mentioned something about India, but I kind of stopped listening to him after he told me he had low whistles and said I’d never seen one before. “Ahem, excuse you, yes I have.”
Now I feel like I’ve been on Antiques Roadshow or something.