I recently won an eBay auction for a flute that was advertised as having no makers marks. It looked good though, and having carefully studied pictures of old flutes posted here, and especially on Terry McGee’s website, I was fairly sure that what I was bidding on was a William Hall and Sons flute, so I took a risk and went for it. I ended up winning it for $455.
Well, when the flute arrived last week I was pleased to find out that it actually does have makers marks, and in fact they are on every section. Surprisingly, though, its NOT a William Hall and Sons flute! So much for me being sure!
I was fairly close though - its a Firth Son & Co flute (1863-67) in Cocus wood with 8 German Silver keys. It is in absolutely pristine condition – well, once I unstuck the tuning slide and did a little cleaning up and repadding. Its a really interesting flute, somewhat like a Firth Hall and Pond, but with larger holes and a noticeably louder and reedier tone. It really honks, even with me playing! It is well in tune with itself at A=440hz with the tuning slide out about 3-4 mm. The A and B are a little sharp, but only 10c or so, and as normal the F# is a little flat, but only 15-20c or so, with the rest of the notes very well in tune. It does not seem to have a flat foot. When compared against a Firth Hall and Pond boxwood flute the C# to D# distance is 3-4 mm shorter. Its tuning seems very much like my modern flutes.
I’ve added some pictures below to show an overview, various details in close-up, and a side by side comparison with a boxwood Firth Hall and Pond flute that I also was lucky enough to win recently. Hopefully, I have not posted too many pictures here!
This flute is a real beauty! I am very pleased with it and feel grateful to all of you here who have shared your knowledge about these historic instruments. I am especially grateful to Terry McGee for publishing so much valuable information on his website. It is only because of all of you that I was able to get lucky on this. Thank you!
