English flageolet-piccolo – George BUTLER

Flageolets

This rare Cocuswood English flageolet with alternative piccolo head joint was made by a company led by George BUTLER (1795-1870) – the head of a family of instrument makers that were producing and dealing in brass, woodwind and many other instruments in Dublin and in London between 1826 and 1927. George started out in Dublin and was later in London. The company traded under the name ‘Butler’s Musical Instruments’ and its London base was at 29 Haymarket from 1865 to 1898.  His three sons worked with George until his death in 1870.

This instrument can be played as a flageolet or a piccolo with the same fingering. It is beautifully crafted and decorated with hand-engraved mounts/rings. The engravings feature flowers and leaves. The six silver keys are all hallmarked. It can be dated back to the1870s. It is supplied in its original leather covered case.

It is clear that this instrument was made for a very special player indeed.

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Cocuswood

Cocuswood is the very dense hardwood of a Caribbean flowering tree called the ‘Brya ebenus’.

‘Brya ebenus’ belongs to the pea family ‘Fabaceae’ and is native to the Caribbean islands of Jamaica and Cuba. It also goes by the quite romantic name of Jamaica Rain Tree because it blossoms bright yellow-orange flowers right after it rains.

Cocuswood’s lovely medium to dark reddish-brown colour is further enhanced with dark blackish streaks. With time, its colour darkens. The grain of cocuswood tends to be straight or a bit wavy. It has a wonderful natural lustre and a fine, even texture.

So absolutely nothing to do with coconuts or coconut trees at all! Really!

With its amazing density, hardness and colour, it’s no wonder that this wood was considered to be one of the very best tonewoods and was widely used in the manufacture of woodwind instruments in the 1800s. It was an exotic, tropical alternative to woods such as boxwood, which were widely used at the time. Flutes, oboes and bagpipes were crafted in cocuswood as well as other items such as carvings or inlays.

Back then cocuswood was all the rage and sadly, due to this previous over-exploitation and the small size of its natural habitat, this wonderful natural resource has been commercially exhausted. So, it is not a protected species, but extremely expensive and difficult to source – making it a very special wood indeed.