Hello All,
I am new to the whistle and to this forum. I have learned a great deal just from browsing old messages, but now I have a specific question.
I recently was given two whistles that seem to be made of pewter. They have a beautiful sound, but I guess I won’t be playing them since they tested positive for lead!
I was wondering if anyone might know anything about them. Or can someone suggest a good way to search for more information?
The front of each whistle is labeled “.U. Hercule P.” The back is labeled “Hercule FA-1”, “Made in France”, “No. 42”, “MI” and “E”.
I realize this may not be an Irish Whistle, but it looks and sounds like one. I will add some photos if I can figure out how.
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Sounds like interesting whistles.
In “test Forum” Gary Kelly has a “sticky” post explaining how to post images. The procedure is laid out very nicely – and you can practice there in the test forum without ‘too many’ wise cracks. 
Good luck!
Judy
Blimey. There’s an example of your ‘whistle’ in the Dayton C. Miller collection:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S?ammem/dcm:@field(TITLE+@od1(DCM+0446:+++Hercule,+trade+name,+employed+by+C++Ullmann+++Vertical+or+Horizontal+Whistle+Flute))
I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to play it. Pewter is still in use for tankards over here (popular for use by real ale fans) and according to the link above, the originals may well have been nickel-plated. (Which of course might give you problems if you have a nickel allergy, as many folks do these days).
Are your whistles anything like this?? If so, they could be jolly interesting ‘antiques’.
(picture taken from the weblink quoted above)
Edited to add… notice the ‘faux’ flute embouchure on the spare headpiece, which presumably would enable one to play the whistle horizontally a la fife by covering the entire blowhole with your mouth. Just goes to show there’s nothing new under the sun
My whistles are only about the length of a classic Clarke tin whistle.
Gary, that certainly is not the same whistle, but I think you may have found a larger version. The link you gave me says that Hercule is a trade name employed by C. Ullmann. That gives me the maker, confirms the location and indicates it really is an old whistle. I wonder if it may have been made in France for the British market since it is marked in English. Maybe I can find something more about “C. Ullmann”. Thanks!
I used one of the those test kits from the hardware store to test for lead in the pewter and it turned bright red. I saw a big discussion about the dangers of playing such whistles in an older topic. Since it got some people upset, I DON’T want to start that topic again. I’m the cautious type so I’ll keep them for show.
Judy, thanks for suggesting the “sticky” post. Sound like just what I need. I’ll try to post some photos to share with everyone.
Some forms of Pewter have lead in them and there are some that don’t.
Modern Crown Pewter is 99% tin and a few other elements but no lead.
One more thing, that fact that the whistle is French made, it might be listed as a Flageolet.