This beautiful ebony flute was completely restored.

It is stamped with the marks of Carl August KLEMM (1769-1830). He was born in Plauen in Saxony, Germany. He was a university dance master. In 1806, he founded a musical instruments shop in his home town and then relocated his home and shop to Leipzig in 1807. There he married and had three children.

He also expanded his business activities by forming a sheet music lending business, which reportedly had around 14,000 titles. He started publishing music too. His company continued through the generations until the 1930s.

We can assume that Klemm himself didn’t actually make this flute. It was therefore perhaps made by one of the leading masters or workshops of the time in Germany. It must have been, since it is so professionally and beautifully made. We think it was made quite early around 1810-1820, just after Klemm moved to Leipzig.

The flute is made of ebony and has four keys. With an ebony flute, we would normally expect the keys to be made of silver. In this case they are made of brass… but beautifully crafted! It’s a typical German four-keyed instrument in the style of the late eighteenth century. It was influenced by the Grenser model and displays many similarities to this style of flute.

The ivory cap and screw cork are also beautifully made.

It’s really three flutes in one as it has three middle joints! Middle joint 1 plays at a=432 Hz, middle joint 2 at a=440 Hz and middle joint 3 at a=448 Hz.

This Klemm flute is in splendid condition. There are no alterations. It has its original small embouchure which was masterfully made. The flute was restored and is in excellent playing condition. It speaks easily in the high registers. It has an elegant sound with very good intonation.