I am new to this forum, so please be gentle…
I also have a confession to make, i haven’t played my flute in a few years, but i have booked a couple of refresher classes, so that should make up for my sins.
Now to the reason of my post:
After some recent de-cluttering i have come across an old wooden flute and piccolo that i had forgotten that i had been given many years ago.
I am sorry but i am completely in the dark about what i have got, so was hoping that someone could help me.
i have attached a piccie.
any information would be greatly appreciated.
regards
Katie
ps this is my third attempt at posting a message, so i really appologise if there are 2 other copies of this floating about!!!
I can’t help you at all. I can only tell you that no one is going to be gentle, so wear extra padding and don’t moisturize so your skin thickens. While we’re waiting for people to reply, could you please answer some questions for me? How does one come to be given a present this sweet? How does one forget one owns something this sweet? I am considering a filibuster until my questions get answered.
Hi Katie, Welcome! We are not all angry mean spirited flute players here, I will be very gentle…
You pictured flutes are probably made in Germany. the small one is a Bb piccolo, the other is a 8 key post mounted german silver keyed and brown ebony flute. Probably made in the late 19th century. I have had ones just like this in my shop, unlike the majority of German flutes, the ones like yours with a separate foot, are a little better. The flute could be very nice or totally out of tune, kind of a mixed bag with these flutes. The one I worked on, was out of tune between the octaves, real bad! ended up re-reaming it with my R&R reamers, and got it in tune.
The price of these two are not worth that much, but “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”! What is the small flute maker stamp say? If it says Boosey, then it will be worth a little more…
this is stamped on the piccolo body, and the flute just has hawkes and son, london.
unfortunatley most of the keys need to be repadded, but all the actions work well. Is it costly to have restored?
And to answer how i had forgotten that i had this stuffed at the back of my wardrobe, my mum and dad gave it to me when i was about 8, and because it didn’t play well, in my youthful eyes, saw it as useless and hence “filed” it with my old shoes!
edit: oops, i missed where katie wrote that the flute was marked “hawkes & son”. d’oh!!
katie, that could be a fine player, restored. may be sharp of A440 (may be in Eb!). might be worth a new, longer head in the event of it being high pitched. i had an ebonite hawkes & son Eb, and it was a belter!
Hi Katie,
I’d say the flute is well worth restoring - looks English made. One question: what is the sounding length, from the centre of the embouchure hole to the edge of the far, open end, with the flute assembled and the tuning slide closed, and also the “C#-Eb” length, from the centre of the top tone-hole (for L1) to the centre of the Eb key (with that rotated onto the same line as the open holes) - both measurements in mm for preference? Those will give us some idea of probable playing pitch. You could do the same with the “piccolo” too. What is the overall length of that (and the flute, while you’re at it)? If it is c15"/37-8cm, it will be a Bb band flute (not a “piccolo”). If it is about 1 foot long it will be a D piccolo. It doesn’t look to me likely to be higher than that (i.e. an Eb or F piccolo). However both or either instrument could well be old English High Pitch. BTW, the piccolo looks to be German made. Both Boosey and Hawkes seem to have imported instruments from German and French makers and re-branded them as at least part of their output.
One more Q. Where in the world are you? Your profile doesn’t say. Tell us and we can point you towards people who could help with overhaul work (and steer you clear of the pirates. (Arrrr, Jim lad! ).
Well, I’ve now spoken to Katie off-forum and I hope she won’t mind me sharing the fruits of or discussion. It seems that this is almost certainly a bandsman’s paired set of Eb (D#) flute and piccolo, probably at A=440 rather than High Pitch, so therefore probably late in the independent Hawkes brand history, I’d guess post WW1.
My basis for this conclusion is from the following approximate measurements Katie was able to give me:
Flute - overall length c620mm, sounding length 545mm, C#-Eb length 235mm - which puts it bang on Terry McGee’s reference for a 440 pitch Eb flute, though in the case of the one he quotes that obviously had a short (“D”) foot whereas this one has a full 8-key rig.
Piccolo - sounding length 245mm - too short for a concert D piccolo (I guessed wrong before! ) so either HP (unlikely if German-made) or Eb. Short of actual play-testing, I think it most likely given the close association of the two instruments that it too will be Eb at 440.
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