Hi,
First time here. My wife is a flautist and her father was a well known Brass/woodwind instrument repairer. From his collection of flutes etc. he has asked us to sell his ‘bits’ as needs must. There is a Rudall & Rose flute that we have put on eBay for him. Is there anyone here that could possibly supply any more info than I have on this flute to update the description of. Of course one would expect us to ask him himself but we are requested by his wife not to ask any questions that would tax him as he is very unwell and should not be troubled (ask him a question and he will waffle on for a week!). We are selling to fund a downstairs bathroom.
Is it this one?
Some photos would help tell us, so we can tell you more about the flute.
Then everyone will go gaga…
scroll down the listing, they are inline 
Hi, sorry, stupidly ommitted the ebay number it is as above http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RUDALL-ROSE-FLUTE-Ser-No-3283-c-1836-/260632789147?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Woodwind_Instruments&hash=item3caeecc09b
There are several pics there. Do I need more important areas - bits?
Thankyou for your help
Jaqui
Yup, that’s a R&R all right.
I’ll give you a few hundred bucks right now.
I mean I have to fix that big crack and everything you know.
fixing everything I know shouldn’t take long 
Well if it was everything you didn’t know I’d have to make another pot of coffee.
might want to invest in a plantation 
Our network is now blocking the photos on eBay! I did finely see the photos on my iPad…
That long F block, is just begging to be fixed… 
Well, it has a few jobs need doing. The head crack on the Patent Head is a bit of a pain to fix, but will need to be done. There is a silver ferrule ring missing at the crown end of the head. One side of the long F guide block has chipped off as has part of the low C# key block. The serial number puts this fine flute right in what Chris Wilkes deems R&R’s best period. The case never had metal hinges - just the leather of the covering. A pity the grease-pot and swab rod are lost! The photo-visible repairs and general overhaul needed are probably in the c£500+ area, so should be vectored into the realisable auction price, and a flute like this in fully restored playing condition ought to be worth £3k+. Fair auction expectation? I’d say it ought to fetch c £2-2.5k, but nothing is sure in any auction, especially in the current climate. It all depends…
i think you’re undershooting it, Jem.
in US $, it should fetch nearly $5,000 or >>>
Especially of the 32xx series, which is a finely made grouping.
I hope you’re right David - that’s my guess based on recent examples - I mean, look at #4298 which has spruced up to be a superb flute (no, I haven’t had a go on it since Chris did the socket and barrel cracks and finished the overhaul I started… but he thinks it is a “wow” flute) and that had less wrong with it, has large-medium rather than small-medium tone-holes and no Patent Head to possibly reduce player desire…
i have to say, playing a medium hole Rudall of late…
they make much nicer music…and the ornaments are much much crisper.
I don’t disagree the PH makes for that heft (and oddly, some were heftier than others…which makes me wonder of their construction…i’ve weighed 3 that are around here and they differ by several grams)…and puts off prospective buyers…but that’s where serial number kicks in for the investment.
Should be interesting. I’ve emailed the owner to get more details on its history for the catalogue…and am NOT bidding on it nor trying to purchase it.
Would just like to say a big, big thankyou to those here that have so kindly supplied my husband and I with info on this flute. I’m certain it boosted the bids. My father will be ecstatic as it has reached over 4 figures now, so much more than he ever dreamed of. It will enable us to provide him more ‘downstair’ facilities. If it reaches any higher, we may afford a stair lift, then mum can watch what ‘she’ wants on TV! My only regret is that I didn’t accept it when he offered it to me several years ago 
. Thankyou once again.
Jaqui
It really, really should get higher than it is right now, so …
… I hope you manage to get that stairlift!
Just to add that, having had a chance to manipulate a couple of the photos now for a better look (I haven’t done them all) it is now clear to me that the main long F mounting block is a grafted replacement. It is a tidy enough job, but not a really good one - it is functional, but the wood is not well matched (initially before fixing the picture, I though it was one of those bits of sapwood intruding into the heartwood that one occasionally sees on antique cocus flutes - though not usually on Rudalls!) and the profile has not been cut to match what would have been that of the original - so it should be reckoned in as one of the repairs required - a proper, matching job is needed.
i saw that too, Jem. The graft is interesting since it as done in a rather unorthodox location.
Most of the long-F injuries are from those chaps who carried the flute in their back pocket, long-F key sticking up…and for whatever situation, rippppp…and I’ve seen some grafts that included both the hinge block and the guide block in one piece (a Monzani comes to mind with a gorgeous bit of work that did not compromise the original bore).
Anyway, most repairs will graft a new whole block, but this one took the route of a partial. Interesting.
Went for £2405.00. Excellent result for the vendor - congratulations, Jaqui. And within my predicted price bracket too! Even if the necessary repairs come in at up to £1k, that will make it about the right overall cost assuming it is a good player. I hope the buyer will take it to someone who knows properly what they are doing/how to deal with major repairs to Patent Heads! (Not me!)
Ronnie got outbid, so it looks like I won’t be restoring it. 