This whistle belonged to my Great Grandfather. He came to the USA before 1900, so my assumption is that this whistle was made in (or at least purchased in) Ulster sometime in the late 1800s. An alternate possibility is that it comes from New York City sometime around 1900.
It’s made from nickel plated bass tubing, and seems to have a lead fipple. The body has decorative grooves turned into it, and it has a “C” stamped on the body, both of which seem to argue in favor of commercial manufacture. Anyone have any idea when or where it was made (click-able thumbnails):
The orange ribbon is my dad’s idea… No one plays it much on account of the lead fipple. It decorates the bar at my parent’s house. The currency is for scale – for those not familiar with US currency, the bill is 155 mm.
It is quiet and smooth. Probably about half as loud as a Clarke Meg whistle, and no breathy-ness at all. I like the intonation a lot, but I haven’t measured to see what it is.
This is like the Bb whistle my late father gave me 49 years ago when I left home.
That was one made in India probably after some Irish or British design.
Yes, the lead in fipple was a problem.
Interesting. I’ll need to see if it’s the same Great Grandfather, but one of them was in the British Army and was sent to both South Africa and India. I wouldn’t have guessed India as a possible origin!
When I want to play it I cover the lead with cellophane tape.
I’ve seen one very similar recovered from a toilet pit on Norfolk Island. That one could be fairly accurately dated to the 1850’s, but the plug was wood rather than lead.
I believe that at-home DIY non-destructive lead testing kits are fairly readily available here in the States, usually involving a liquid and a swab. I haven’t had occasion for one myself. I’ve also read that false positives can be a problem with some, so it pays to do some research before choosing.
The plug metal certainly looks like lead; tin is a lighter, silvery-gray. Lead would be a logical choice for something manufactured in that timeframe, because it is cheap and easy to work. It could also be pot metal, which is a zinc alloy that sometimes contained lead and a mish-mash of other metals. I don’t know when that metal got popular, but I know it’s still used in a lead-free blend.
This is almost a replica in looks of a whistle I was given a while back however mine is nickel plated copper tubing with a lead fipple and is in the key of Bb. It plays softly and in tune. When I look at the hohner that I have, it is also the same design. I suspect that the old hohners were copied from this design and they avoided the lead. I have given mine an epoxy coating where the lips touch and when I play it, I make sure I don’t suck - watch out for cellophane you never know what they might find in it one day
I could understand a vuvuzela being found in the toilet pit, but this is just a lovely whistle…those Norfolk Islanders
So it was your relative that sent the whistle to South Africa and started the revolution?
I was thinking through scenarios that end up with a whistle in a toilet pit:
“Him and that stupid whistle. I’ll show him!”
“I think I’ll just take this in the loo and play a moment… Oh NO!”
So it was your relative that sent the whistle to South Africa and started the revolution?
Could be
I’ve always thought it would be fun to write a historical novel about his life – what it must have been like for a young fellow from Ulster to get on a boat and get off in India. The sights, smells and sounds must have been completely foreign. And after that to move to New York City. That’s more travel then most people I know!
It looks to me like a very early Generation whistle but I’m not sure if Generation was making whistles before your Great Grandfather left Ireland.
One early maker/seller of whistles that featured lead plugs was the London flute makers Samuel and Wallis. so it could be one of theirs too…
Who ever the maker, it certainly looks like a fine quality whistle of its day. Keeping in mind that in the late 1800’s the cheaper ‘penny’ whistles had wood plugs and the fancier high end ones had metal (usually lead) plugs.
