I just bought a flute from ebay, 180029713177. The V.F. Cerveny & Sons was a famous brass instrument company in Hradek-Kranova, of the Austria-Hungry Empire. that is now in the northern Czech Republic. They were associated with Adolph Sax, the inventor of the sax. I bought the flute for $200 because:
(A) The C and C# keys are of the Bohem type which are easier on the pinkie.
(B) There is a low B key that one closes with the left hand, like the old wooden flutes. That way the whole low B is easier, besides the C and C# being easier.
(C) It has a relief key up top like a Bohem to help with the 3re octave.
(D) The arrangment of the metal slide of the headjoint does not have a metal tube inside a wood cylincer and, thus, the wood parts will not split.
(E) It will probably be easy to mate the headjoint with most other wooden flute bodies.
In short, it has all the things I like about a Bohem in addition to 6 holes, not keys, for T. Irish music.
I have searched over the whole internet to find another. Has anyone ever heard of this make or design of flute?
Looks nice Nelson! I lwas looking at that flute myself. Loos t obe in good shape. I couldn’t find anything on it either, there isn’t anything in the Dayton Miller collection either. As long as it plays nice who cares!
Kind of looks Cuban.
Let us know how it plays, once you get your new teeth…
Jon, I am Jellymuscles on ebay (because as a kid all I ate was jelly-and-bread). Surely this is not the only flute made by V.F. Cerveny & Sons. When I look them up, I get trumpets and basoons, and trombones galore.
I always wondered about your Jellymuscles handle… I just figured all the soccer kids called you that!
Well it doesn’t resemble a trumpet. basoon, or a trombone! So maybe it was made by another flutemaker and sold by this company.
Don’t bet the farm on it. Then again, it has a loving home, now, so it should be fine. I’d love to hear what the intonation is like.
Cerveny sounds like a big brand, like Boosey et al. I think they actually made rotary-valve trumpets, but resold other instruments. I had an Albert clarinet badged Cerveny, and the keywork didn’t resemble your flute’s in the least: they were very thin, very green nickel. The wood was very flawed and brittle ebony, like I’ve seen on no-name Meyer fakes.
Good find - I almost bid, but my last purchase is still unrestored, and is guilt-tripping me.
