I just bought a vintage tin whistle off ebay. I bought it partly because it was in the uncommon key of B. The seller said it was old, but I figured 1950s based on the picture. But when I received it, I began to think that this thing might be very old indeed, perhaps even as far back as the American Civil War era (though maybe not quite that old – it does look like Civil War replica Tin Whistles, but this in no replica). In design/shape, it looks much like a Shaw whistle. But the patina suggests that it is quite old.
There is no maker name on it. But the emblem on the front is the U.S. “Great Seal” which is the Eagle with arrows (3) in one talon and an olive branch in the other. Under this it has the letters U.S in a style that I’ve seen in military museums. I’ve hours today on the web trying to find some info on this whistle, but have found nothing. The way it looks, I could totally see a WWI soldier with a whistle like this. One thought was that it may have been made in England and sent to America. No clue. Anyone have any ideas?
Oh, so you’re the one who won that. I meant to bid on it, but I forgot until about an hour too late. 
Anyway, I did some googling at the time, and this was what I found on it.
http://musicaviva.com/instruments/gallery/display.html?serienr=22990
Those U.S. whistles seem to have been made by a company called Elton, probably from the 1890s - 1930s. Somewhere online I also found a link to an actual music catalog from the 1920s (I think) that had some similar Elton whistles listed, but right now I can’t seem to locate the link again.
Does that thing play very well?
Thanks, plaidpotato. Yes, I won it…there was only one bid on the item. And yes, the picture/drawing on the link you sent me is it. Thanks! I tried, obviously without success, to find some info on it, so cheers to you for finding this.
The thing plays fairly well, and I’m quite pleased with it. Since it was made before 1939 (when pitch was finally standardized) it’s about 15 cents below a modern standard B. It’s not much use in a session or playing with any other non-tunable instruments. But the sound is good enough that I’m considering using it on a track for my up-coming Trad CD.
My understanding was that Elton distributed a lot of instruments and parts (including banjos, guitars, etc.) back then but that Elton as a company didn’t make any instruments. That means that the whistle could actually have been made anywhere – even imported from overseas – then sold by Elton. I’m not sure, but I’m still thinking that this could have been intended as a soldier’s instrument…perfect for the battlefield. The emblem gives it a military look to it. Or maybe it was just during the WWI era when patriotic designs were popular. At any rate, they must not have made a whole lot of them…this thing is quite solid and I’d expect that there would be a lot of them around still, but they seem rather rare. Still interesting to me that they match what I’ve seen as a Civil War era whistle designs. Well, it’s a nice collectors item, if nothing else. Thanks again…Steven Hawson