folks…can someone kindly tell me why the dude Eddie is selling a flute with no reserve that he just unloaded $10k for a few months ago…and presumably a few more with Hammy doing the fixing (what does Hammy say??).
I thought the flute was in playing condition the first time it sold. What fixes did it need?
again…what’s up?
someone here must surely know.
No idea, but on the current eBay listing we’re told:
Problems associated with these flutes is dodgy internal tuning, this flute comes up trumps in this regard, and lacks the flat bottom D and other issues that one so often sees.
And on the other thread we have:
As well as:
cracks- one running nearly the entire length nicely pinned and finished
Which suggests that the Hammy head joint repair (‘this crack was professionally pinned’) was done before the previous sale?
But the current listing (as well as raising that low D tuning discrepancy) is conspicuously missing the other condition info provided by The Pooka.
Psst! Psst! Michael … The barn door’s open. Button your trousers. You wouldn’t want to embarrass yourself …
Ahhhh - threads like this make me sooo happy that I have the flute I have.
Don’t you know that Michael has his trousers especially tailored that way. They are supposed to be flapping open at the top, a little bit suggestive, you see. And in case anyone wants to bling up his/her flute like Michael’s in the photo, I have just the thing: silver holographic sparkle stick-on vinyl.
Yeah, I’m with you guys, I’m not going to buy this one, because it’s…umm…gaudy.
okay, so I’ll go with the repairs having been made…but at NO reserve?
honestly.
he’s got ~$11k into it.
Still…totally flummoxed.
I’ll be okay as long as he looses money on it 
Like David, I’m flummoxed too - to pay nearly £6.5k for this flute (actually I don’t think that is silly money given the rarity of these - didn’t David say he only knows of 4 with similar bling?), seemingly have Hammy work on it (is he saying he’s had work done, or is he putting out info he got from the previous, not very publicly forthcoming owner?) which would take the investment up several £100s, then sell it (back on eBay!!!) within 6 months… verrrryyy strange, even in better economic times and stronger flute markets! (Of course, the economic situation may be a reason for needing to sell with an unplanned and undesired short turn-round.) If Hammy worked on it recently, surely the logical first way to try to sell it would be through him!
I wonder if Hammy might (be persuaded to) chip in here and, without breaching any client confidentiality, say when he worked on the flute and what his opinion is of it?
FWIW, the absence of the item from vendor 1’s feedback record presumably simply implies our Eddie didn’t leave her any feedback, though she gave him hers.
I am enjoying all the speculation about this flute. Too bad it’s not haunted too.
Questions: Is there a flute with more intrigue? Have we talked about a flute more? I remember that one flute with the implied provenance that had something to do with either the American Revolution or Civil War.
didn’t David say he only knows of 4 with similar bling?),
that’s right
Without looking at the database, i believe that covers them.
Makes me wonder if indeed these 4 flutes were made ahead of time as a batch, then marked with the serial numbers after the fact as they were sold?
hmmm
Or at the least the keys/rings/crown were made first.
again, hmmmm.
Seller expects market forces to bring a sale at an amount they are satisfied with. Less than what they paid may be an acceptable figure. Maybe they don’t care how it plays, can’t play for other reasons (such as health), and are happy to dump it.
Seller may be using the listing to advertise the instrument for sale by other means and/or to gather an estimate of what others might consider it’s value to be.
Seller is not obligated to complete any sale, and can end the listing at any time up until 12 hours before the listing expiration.
It wasn’t their money anyway.
I think it’s time to help to clear up a few things about this flute, and I don’t think the seller will mind me posting the following, since it’s really only an extension of what’s in the sale blurb, but perhaps clarifies a few matters.
I restored this flute after it was sold for the first time on ebay, and the work done was mainly cosmetic and remedial. The seller asked me at one stage to sum up what I did in terms of restoration, and also what I thought of the flute, and I replied:
“The screw cork had been crudely made functional with a piece of threaded brass bar, which had been stuck into the broken off ivory. I was able to save the original threaded section of the ivory, grafted on a new ivory shaft and made a new wooden cork with a silver facing.( the head and barrel liners are silver, not plated)
There was a repaired crack in the head, and this had extented to some extent since the original repair. This crack was pinned and some cosmetic work done on the other crack. The whole head was then re-french polished.
Two minor barrel cracks were repaired, and the barrel re-finished.
The foot was the only other major issue, where the tops of the top block had become detached and an old crude repair had been done by screwing on two small pieces of blackwood. The dividing block between the C and C# touches was missing, but the foot joint keys were still working very effectively. I removed this repair and replaced it with two pieces of cocus selected to match the existing grain as closely as possible. This was attached using side grain dowels. A replacment dividing block from the same cocus was milled to size, and attached by milling an appropriate slot into which it was inserted. All the new material was nitric acid stained to match the existing cocus, and then refinished as before.
This is obviously a magnificent collectors instrument, but much more than that, from a players point of view is certainly one of the best Rudall’s I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot)
The flute dates from 1826/7 ( my estimate ) and has small holes. To my way of playing, using a tight embouchure and blowing deeply into the flute ( the embouchure adopted by most Irish players) the flute plays at A440 with the slide extended about 15mm ( and I would extend about 5mm more than the majority of players). You understand that this is IMO unusual, as most flutes from this period will play sharper than this. The other problem associated with these flutes is dodgy internal tuning, but again this flute comes up trumps in this regard, and lacks the flat bottom D and other issues that one so often sees.”
Why the seller is selling, is his own business. I can only assure listers that it is certainly not because the flute has any issues, either structural or musical, and I have absolutely no commercial interest in this sale. I was paid for the work done, and was thrilled to be able to work on such a wonderful instrument, and to play it for a while.
Just on a few other matters, the amount paid for it, IMO was very reasonable, and I see no reason why it wouldn’t sell again for the same or more. Although there are more of these flutes out there than David seems to think ( I’ve seen more myself ) there are probably still at the outside only a couple of dozen of them around compared to many thousand “ordinary” Rudalls. I think that helps to put the value in context.
All the Best
Hammy Hamilton
Thanks very much Hammy - I sincerely appreciate your posting. I’m not and have never been looking to purchase this flute (not that I wouldn’t like to own it in an ideal world, money no object!), but as someone who follows these things fairly consistently, it is frustrating when a load of ill-informed and alarmist speculation, often unhelpful, starts flying around which could be very readily laid to rest by folk in the know - as you have generously done on this occasion. (Not that I don’t do some public speculating myself, but I hope I keep it within reasonable limits!)
Of course, eBay (and elsewhere) vendors who are too lazy or too poor at expressing themselves to give thorough, unambiguous accounts of their wares (the more important the higher the value) and to answer questions properly, don’t help the general situation or their own sales pitch!
Hammy!
indeed, many thanks, Hammy.
sadly, i’ve only 20 years of cataloguing to go by…and many many Rudalls slip by.
Now…if people would only write down the serial numbers of these flutes when they come by…
I never doubted the sincerity of the seller…and if I came across that way, my apologies.
What i could not figure was why there was no reserve price on a flute that we all know was already very expensive.
I suspect to save money.
Anyways…we’ll have to see if it garners the price again.
£6’100 … ebay cannot go further than that.
Sold, for £6105 pounds sterling… which is $9640 dollars: is that more or less than it sold for originally?
According to Hammy, who knows what he’s talking about, this was not just a lovely piece of craftsmanship, but a very good instrument. Nonetheless, a “normal” (i.e. non-ornate Rudall) would not reach such prices, no matter how it sounds, so is the extra 3000 pounds essentially for the rarity/originality of the rings and keywork?
Also, anyone know who got it?
The eBay winner’s ID code is a***7, which I know I’ve seen before (collector, I think) and I have a feeling I knew who it is at some point, but I can’t recall for sure just now.
The sale price is several £100 short of what the vendor bought it for, plus he’s paid Hammy a fair whack for sure, plus he’s going to lose a big chunk to eBay commission and, if the buyer insists on paying by PayPal rather than setting up a bank transfer (which will still cost, but less) that’ll be nearly another £250 off. At a guess he’s going to be over £1k down overall. I feel for him, sincerely. But congratulations to the winner! I hope s/he’s going to play it.
Does Michael Flatley buy flutes on ebay? Serious question…
I hope so. At least he’ll play it. It would be a shame for a superb instrument to fall into the hands of a collector just because he or she could afford the gaudiness.