19th Century Wooden Flute For Sale
May 19th, 2007 by Shardul
I received mail this morning from the woodenflute.com digest and was delighted to see an old wooden flute offered for sale by Jem Hammond of Wales. He lists it as being a 19th century 8 key flute in D and of French origin although there is no maker’s stamp on it. It was a treat to look at all the photos he has posted of this fine old instrument and to hear it being played.
This is the full text of Jem’s message:
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Hello everyone: I am now in a small way acquiring and restoring Irish traditional music suitable and similar wooden flutes for re-sale. I currently have the following flute available:
For Sale: Fine Anonymous C19th ?French? 8-key Flute in D
System: Standard 8-key Simple System
Materials: Grenadilla/Blackwood with all metal fittings in German Silver/Maillechort save for steel leaf springs and pins to all the keys.
Sounding Length: (tuning slide closed) 575mm, C# - Eb length 262mm.
Pitch: Plays well at A=440Hz with tuning slide open c12mm (in average British temperatures/humidity and with my moderately rolled-in embouchure)
Description/Commentary: This beautiful, elegant and very refined instrument is, on stylistic grounds, almost certainly French, probably from the mid C19th. There is no makers stamp. This instrument has no serious or function affecting damage and, having been completely overhauled, it looks virtually brand new. The photographs may show what might appear to be many fine cracks, but these are in fact the natural surface grain: the two actual small cracks - one under the Eb key about 1cm long, one very short near the lower pillar of the G# key - are specifically illustrated in the photographs. They are stable and don’t leak. It is also missing two of the original three tenon-end ferrule rings - not visible when assembled, of course. It is otherwise in near perfect original condition.
Although this flute has a relatively narrow body and small tone-holes, it is by no means quiet. According to French taste, it has a light, sweet but crisp, clear tone, lacking some of the lower partials favoured in British taste of the era and sought after in modern Irish Music circles, but it is nonetheless powerful and can hold its own in a folk session or an orchestra. It speaks easily and very evenly across the whole three octave range and, given its construction, would probably sound well into the fourth octave as used in Charanga style playing.
The Head Joint is, in typical French fashion, only part-lined with metal tubing, just sufficiently to secure the upper part of the tuning slide within it. The ovoid embouchure hole is in very good condition, approximately 12.5×10.5 mm. It is very light and a comfortable flute to hold. The relatively narrow tube makes the left-hand position more comfortable for the small-handed or those accustomed to metal Boehm flutes than many C19th wooden flutes would be. The small finger holes would make it an easier flute than many for a small-handed or narrow finger-tipped player, although as the holes are quite widely spaced, hands with short fingers or a limited finger-spread might still find difficulty or discomfort in spanning wide enough to reliably and comfortably cover the holes.
To view an online gallery of detailed photographs of this instrument, visit this link.
To listen to an online album of sound samples of this instrument, visit this link.
(Please excuse the inadequacies of my playing and any erratic performance. These are not studio quality recordings nor could I spend indefinite time refining them. I hope they are usefully illustrative of the flute.)
Asking Price: £800.00 Sterling (plus postage etc.)
Even if you’re not looking for a flute right now, I hope some of you will enjoy checking out the pics and sound samples and I’d appreciate any feedback.
Happy Fluting!
Jem.
For a fully detailed description, please contact Jem Hammond.
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... a web site dedicated to the simple system wooden flutes (aka 'Irish' flutes) that are so much a part of Irish traditional and Celtic music, and to the excellent wooden flutes produced by the Irish flute maker 
NOW SOLD — I’m happy to report that, after some dignified negotiation (I’m always prepared to haggle!), this lovely flute is now sold and will in due course have a new home in Indonesia!
Thanks Shardul for the publicity, and to everyone who showed an interest. Watch this space for further instruments as and when I have them ready to go. I have several in progress, and also about half-a-dozen nice 4-6 key piccolos awaiting attention — if you are looking for or interested in a piccolo, please contact me (you can use the link in the listing above or pm me on Chiff & Fipple in the first instance — my handle is “jemtheflute“).
Cheers!.
Jem.
Great Jem. Wow - a French made flute restored by a Welshman goes to Indonesia. That’s a nice trifecta! I wonder if it gets to play Irish traditional music with its new owner? Anyway, thanks for letting us know. Best Wishes, Shardul.
Shardul — although I have lived in Wales all my adult life, I can’t claim to be Welsh… I’m English — and the purchaser of the flute is also English but working in Indonesia. I think he envisages it more for classical use — I seem to recall he said he has a keyless Terry McGee for ITM purposes.
Well Jem, the plot thickens… We now have a French flute restored by an Englishman residing in Wales that was sold to another Englishman residing in Indonesia. That’s a ‘quinfecta’ by my arithmatic. Ahhh, but the muse moves in me…
Ode to The Old Flutes
If only old flutes could really talk
Ohhh such stories they would tell,
Of the many tunes that they’ve played
And the hands by which they’ve been held.
Of the places they have been to
And the lips they knew so well,
Of the joy that they have offered
And of the sorrows they did tell.
Of the journeys that they made
And of lost friends along the way
Silenced by mishap or neglect
But remembered to this day.
So here’s to the old flutes —
And to those that make them good!
And here’s to the folk that with their breath
Make them understood…
— Shardul.
Cheers Jem - thanks for letting us know.