Description

Solid silver Boehm flute – Fontaine-Besson

Listen to this flute first… playing Henri ALTÈS (1826-1895), Etude n° 20 in A flat minor, Allegretto pastorale.

This exquisite, solid silver flute has been meticulously overhauled and presents in magnifique condition. Entirely handmade, its beautiful design shows the true style of the early 20th-century French tradition. It perfectly combines a timeless look with smooth mechanics, capturing exactly how a fine French flute should be made.  We can observe it sharp and elaborated pointed arms. There is a very special bridge on the reverse side which reminds us of instruments made by the famous Parisien makers such as Vilette. Furthermore, it features two adjusting screws, teardrop D-sharp key and seamless tubing. The embouchure size is 10.6 x 12.4 mm.

The flute is stamped “Fontaine Besson / Paris” with its serial number. Marthe Josephine BESSON (c.1852-1908), daughter of the brilliant musical instrument manufacturer and acoustic innovator maker Gustave Auguste BESSON (1820-1875), managed the Besson musical instrument company, based in Paris and London, alongside her sister after her father’s death. She married the French diplomatic clerk Adolphe Honoré Gabriel FONTAINE (1842-1908) in 1879. Despite signing a prenuptial agreement promising not to interfere in manufacturing, he officially rebranded the French branch as Fontaine-Besson and routinely disrupted operations. Fontaine openly despised the musical instrument craft, and his tyrannical workplace behaviour eventually provoked a massive six-week factory strike in 1894. His severe domestic abuse ultimately drove Marthe away. Their marriage ended with her flight with a Spanish employee, a grand theft accusation by her husband and a scandalous trial. They both died in 1908.

You can explore the Besson story fabulously documented here and more about Marthe’s final resting place here.

There are no other instruments known to be stamped with the full name “Fontaine Besson” and we can conclude it was probably made between 1886 when Adolphe Fontaine lost his job at the French consulate in London and his death in 1908. The serial number also bears no relation to the company’s brasswind serial numbers.

Remarkably, the flute’s tubing is hallmarked with… swans! Officially introduced on June 29, 1893, the French swan hallmark is a prestigious assay mark. It guarantees that a silver item originated outside of France (or from an unknown workshop) but strictly meets the minimum purity standard of 800/1000 (80% pure silver).This leaves us with a fascinating historical mystery. Could this flute have been crafted in Paris, exhibited at a grand international exposition like Chicago 1893, St. Louis 1904, or Liège 1905, and later re-imported? Or perhaps it served as a sample instrument by a legendary Parisian maker destined to become an OEM product in England for Fontaine Besson? Your guess is as good as ours.

What we do know is that this marvellous flute is pure French harmony. Housed in its original case, it plays beautifully at a=440 Hz, delivering its music avec élégance and a charming timbre.