Rudall and Rose antique wooden flute for Irish music

this flute is sold

this is an eight keyed simple system wooden flute, made in about 1840, which was made for professional orchestral work, but is now favored by Irish music players. It plays well at standard pitch, a=440, with the patent head joint screwed out, but was intended to play at a sharper pitch, maybe a=450 or higher.

The body is marked: 

Rudall & Rose
no 1 Tavistock Street
Coventry Garden
London
3246
I won't swear to all the letters because the markings are rather faint!

The block mounted keys are all sterling silver. The wood is cocus wood. One ring is a replacement, on the heart joint.

It has two cracks in the head joint which do not go through the embouchure, cracks in the tuning joint, cracks in the heart joint, and a small crack in the foot joint. The head joint cracks are filled with wax, which seals well and allows the wood to move with changes in the climate. The heart joint cracks are held tight by a wrapping of nylon thread and the other small cracks are sealed with crazy glue. The center joint has a cork lapping on the lower end which is chipped but tight, and a silk thread lapping on the upper end which does not seal well until it gets moist. Once the top silk joint is tight the flute is tight and plays extremely well.

The head joint has an ingenious patent tuning mechanism which adjust the cork inside the head joint at the same time that it extends the tuning slide. You must be sure to keep your friends from trying to twist or slide the tuning joint when you let them try the flute!

the foot joint has pewter plug keys for c and c# which work well and do not need a leather covering.

an original vintage case, with a certificate of authenticity (with the original serial number erased and this flute's serial number written over it) (in other words, it is not the original case for this flute.)

This flute has a beautiful tone and plays easily for its full three octave range. the keys work well, too. This all assumes that *you* know how to play this kind of wooden flute. It is different from the modern silver flute, and even the best silver flute players sound pretty funny on it until they learn how to blow it. And some pretty good silver flute players have tried! The third octave is much harder than the modern silver flute. This flute can be heard on a tape that the Green Mountain Volunteers put out in 1982, if you can find it.

Here are some pictures - you can click on the highlighted title to see each picture.

Please ask questions before you buy. I usually respond to e-mail within 24 hours.

A money order will get this item shipped one or two days after I get it, checks will ship in seven days. I can only ship in the USA. Winner must add $6.00 for shipping via US mail. I reserve the right to refuse bids from people with negative feedback. Sale is final and not refundable.