By consulting the literature (Marsha Goodman) and company website, we can date this very early flute # 788 to spring 1904, a few years after William Sherman HAYNES (1864-1939), one of the Haynes brothers,  had started his own firm. At that time, an average of only 60 flutes were made per year, so they are rare!  He did start out making metal flutes in nickel silver but always preferred solid silver in the end. The company still exists today and has an excellent website containing all of its illustrious history. The timeline shows a flute almost identical to this one.

In terms of condition, this flute plays the entire range. It does need a pad rechange. The head joint is made by Haynes but not for this particular flute as it is not a perfect fit. The stamp suggests it was made for the military. There was a crack on the reverse side of the head joint some 140 mm long, which was previously glued and filled. There are also two hairline cracks at the socket on the reverse side of the foot joint. Despite this… here is one beautiful flute! It is supplied in its original case.

Although this flute needs some overhauling, with a pitch of around a=438 Hz, it has that typical Haynes sweet sound. It plays over the entire tonal range with a warm, round and colourful or perhaps colorful, tone.

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