| When I bought an alto
flute
to
play at my kid brother's wedding, I discovered that not
all flutes are
like
the pawn shop junkers I doubled on when playing alto
sax. Flutes
aren't supposed to be hard to play. So I
gave up sax and
began my quest for the perfect concert flute. Now I
seem to be
turning
into a (shudder!) collector of sorts, but strictly of
transverse Boehm
and Boehm variant instruments that are fun to play.
I
know
that if I keep looking long enough I will eventually find
the flute
that
plays itself....
The internet is still lacking in
information about instruments and instrument
makers. I began
these
listings in early 2000 hoping to share some of what I
have learned, and
to
encourage others to do the same. There are so many
wonderful
instruments out there, made by artisans who
hoped their work would inspire others to make great
music. Please let
me
know of any errors or inaccuracies, I have much to
learn.... Principle resources in my amateurish foray into flute history include: William Waterhouse's New Langwill Index: A Dictionary of Musical Wind-Instrument Makers and Inventors; Susan Berdahl's splendid 1985 dissertation, The First Hundred Years of the Boehm Flute in the United States, 1845-1945: A Biographical Dictionary of American Boehm Flutemakers; Nancy Toff's The Development of the Modern Flute; and Philip Bate's The Flute: A Study of its History, Development and Construction. If only my brain operated a bit better I would cite them more properly throughout my ramblings.
Table of Relative
Flute Headjoint Sizes - If you've
ever tried swapping flute
headjoints, please check this comparative listing. Click on name or image to link
to a
dedicated page about each flute. Return to GoferJoe's Personal Page Table of Relative Flute Headjoint Sizes Homemade Flute Stand / Homemade Headjoint Case |
ALPHABETICAL LISTING:
|
APPROXIMATE CHRONOLOGICAL LISTING:
 Theodore
Berteling, New York, c. 1860. Silver
seamed body and
mechanism, diagonal scroll embouchure with leaf and
acorn engraving,
approx. A-448. A gem from an inventive early
American maker. |
 Theodore
Berteling, New York, S#30, c. 1865.
Grenadilla with nickel
silver mechanism and palm crutch, approx. A-448.
American
innovation and remarkable preservation thanks to climate
of a Tucson
closet! |
 Rudall Rose
Carte & Co., London, 1867 System, S# 594.
Soldered silver body
and mechanism, just too darned pretty to pass by.
Engraved barrel
embouchure, open G#, non-Briccialdi Bb. Made around
1870, the flute is
a work of art (even though I'm all thumbs with open G#). |
 Alfred G.
Badger, New York, c.1868-1880. Soldered plated
nickel silver(?)
body & mechanism to low B-flat; metal clad wood
barrel embouchure
and crown; A~446. |
 Boosey
&
Co. "Pratten's Perfected", London, S#10604, c.
1879. Soldered
silver body and mechanism, ornately engraved crown and
barrel.
Robert Sydney Pratten adapted the Boehm cylinder flute
to the
fingerings familiar to players of conical bore
instruments. |
 Gautrot
aîné, Paris, c.1880. Conical five
section, five key
simple system. Wood with nickel silver ferrules,
post and rod
keys. So much for sticking with Boehm and Boehm
variant
flutes.... |
 Auguste
Bonneville, Paris, S# 2155, c.1886. A
Parisian silversmith
who subcontracted for Godfroy and L. Lot, Bonneville
established his
own shop in 1876. Soldered, silver plated body and
mechanism,
elegantly finished and very light. |
 Buffet-Crampon & Cie.,
Paris, S# 844,
c.1895(?). Seamed maillechort thinwall body and
mechanism,
soldered, metal clad wood screw indicator crown, set
screws to trill
steel, A~438, repair to A key. |
 Claude
Rive, Paris/Toulouse, S# 1756, c.1905(?).
Seamed silver
thinwall body and mechanism, soldered, originally fully
gold plated but
most removed, probably when scale was altered to
A-441. Headjoint
engraved Emilio Puyans (turn of the century flute
virtuoso). |
 C.
G. Conn, Elkhart, S# 10210, 1905-6.
Footless unibody with standard and ebonite headjoints,
gold wash
mechanism, R1 G and B-C trills, knuckle rest and
(replacement) palm
crutch. This very early Union Label flute is even in
reasonably good
playing condition. |
 Albisi and Vanotti,
Albisiphon Baritono, Milano, d.1920(?). Vertical
bass flute in C
to low B. Designed by Abelardo Ernesto Albisi
c.1910,
manufactured in conjunction with Luigi Vanotti
1913-1925. The
novel sound inspired Puccini and Mascagni to incorporate
Albisiphon
parts in their compositions. |
 William
Winthrop Haynes, The Haynes Flute Co., Incorp.,
Boston, S# 365,
1920-21. Silver body and
mechanism, strapless keywork. Very similar to flutes of
this period by
estranged father William S. Haynes. After litigation
courts required
firm's name be changed and it was renamed The
Haynes Schwelm Co.
in 1921. |
 H. Bettoney, Boston, S# 1532,
1918(?) (also
M33 series flute). Silver body and
mechanism, gold springs, A=440, knuckle rest,
(replacement) palm
crutch,
C# and B-C trills. Very similar to Haynes of this
period, a fine
example
of Bettoney's professional quality instrument. |
 Lebret, Louis
Léon Joseph, Paris, S# 4242, 1923(?).
After a decade
with the Louis Lot firm, Lebret established an
independent shop
specializing in metal Boehm flutes in 1888.
Keywork styling on
this plated flute is quite peculiar to Lebret. |
 *Ashton "Jack"
Worswick,
Boston, S# 10, 1930(?). Soldered silver handmade
thinwall with nicely
pointed plateau keys. One of Powell's first employees,
Worswick worked
for almost every major Boston firm and fabricated just a
precious few
in his own name as an independent maker. |
 A. Rampone & B. Cazzani &
Co., Milan,
S#1462. Soldered silver plate(?) body and mechanism, the
bells and
whistles special edition. Made around 1930(?),
split-E; trill
touches for C#, B-C, G#; and added L4 touch which
clutches to foot to
either trill D# or both B and C# pads. |
 Wm. S. Haynes,
Boston, S#18530, 1947. Toneholes soldered to an
extremely
thinwall (.011") silver body, these uncommon "Laurent
spec" flutes were
made to approximate 19th Century French flutes. |
 Marigaux - S.M.L,
Paris, S# 1359, early 1950's
(after acquisition of Louis Lot firm?). Silver
thinwall body and
mechanism, drawn, gold springs. Found by the
former owner in a
Florida brass shop, this flute literally had to do
cartwheels to reach
me.... |
 "Klingson"
Hammerschmidt's "Spezial",
Burgau(?), Germany, 1950's? Seamed plated tube
construction,
drawn toneholes, ebonite reform embouchure, palm
crutch. No
serial number, no provenance (found in an old music shop
when doing
inventory), I
fell in love with the name. |
 Wm. S. Haynes, Boston, S#
23950. Soldered 14k
body and mechanism. Made in 1954 for Frederick
Wilkins (Radio
City Music Hall Orchestra, Firestone Hour, etc.) and
passed on to Trudy
Kane (Metropolitan). |
 Rudall Carte
& Co Ltd, London. Bass flute in C,
London c.1964. Silver
tube, drawn toneholes, plated mechanism. Who could
look at the
sculptural form of this flute without wanting to hold it
and play
it? |
 Verne Q. Powell, Boston, S#
1775, 1957.
Silver thinwall body and mechanism, soldered, gold
springs.
Labeled a "merciless taskmaster" and a "crusty old
curmudgeon," Verne
still ran the shop into the early 1960's. |
 George
Opperman Alto, South Bend, S# 121, 1957-58.
Silver plate
60/40 brass heavy wall body, soldered. Dimensions based
on Powell,
mechanism an original Opperman design. |
 Hans Reiner,
Schöneck im Vogtland, S# 858, c. 1967. Silver
plate (over
silver?)
body and mechanism, bakelite reform embouchure, knuckle
rest and clear
acrylic
palm crutch, split-E, G-A trill. Lip centers
automatically, flute
speaks effortlessly, a doubler's dream |
 G.
Rudolf Uebel, Wohlhausen im Vogtland, S#
116-69-1481, 1969. Heavy aluminum tube with nickel
plated
headjoint and mechanism, about as odd a beast as the
East
Germans could manage. The eccentric gesture of the
post-modern
keywork
is countersunk into the massive tubing of the footless
unibody,
tapering
at both ends as though the instrument were about to
burst. |
 Edward Almeida,
Boston, S# 160, made in 1972 by Geoff Almeida with
Albert Cooper
Headjoint, London, made in 1975 and Verne Q. Powell C
footjoint.
Solid silver mechanism and soldered thinwall body
(except heavier wall
Powell C-foot for resonance and balance). |
 Rampone &
Cazzani, Italy, S#05353. This is a highly stylized
MOD 2002
edition. Made around 1980, pad cups are nearly
flat and polished
to a mirror-like finish, touches are boldly shaped from
flat
stock. Seems I'm not the only one attracted to
shiny objects! |
