This cocuswood flute was made by the master himself – Louis LOT (1807-96). By checking the serial number 1889, we can date this flute to 1874. All three sections of the instrument are stamped with the Louis Lot stamp, plus the serial number. This proves that the parts of the instrument all belong...
This Luigi VANOTTI flute, including its mechanism, is made of solid 900 silver – evidenced by its hallmarks. It was made around 1910. Luigi Vanotti worked for the company Rampone & Cazzani before setting up his own business in 1909 in Milan, at Via Solferino 46. He specialised in making...
This beautiful Louis LOT cocuswood, conical ring-key flute is in playing condition.It was made shortly after Louis Lot had retired and the company was under the ownership of Honoré Désiré VILLETTE – Lot’s first successor. Villette was born on 20.04.1827 in Sorel Moussel – a small village about 10 kilometres away...
This crazy-looking yet elegant metronome was invented and patented by Arthur Gough PINFOLD (1864-1940). Arthur was one of four children, born in Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, England. His father was a watchmaker, jeweller and musician and his children would follow on in his footsteps. At some point, the family relocated to...
In the 19th century, several inventors patented ideas to enable the flute to be played vertically. This meant that the flute was held vertically, but blown transversely. Enter the fascinating ‘Giorgi’ flute! This particular Giorgi flute is in excellent condition and probably dates from around 1896-1900. It plays at a=440 Hz...
Here is a really sweet, fifth flute by METZLER – in this case, we think by Martin METZLER (ca. 1755-1809).Very little is known about Martin Metzler and his time in London. We do know that he rented dwellings in the area of Norton Folgate until about 1788. Martin Metzler was...
Here is a beautiful salterio, hammered dulcimer or psaltery.It’s a trapezoidal-shaped salterio with quite an unusual number of bridges – six. It has two sound holes, decorated throughout with foliage and garlands of flowers.The front of the instrument features a Mediterranean bay, which seems to be Catalan in style. There...
This third flute was made by the Bavarian maker Johann Samuel STENGEL (1771-1826). Johann Samuel was the first in a generation of woodwind instrument makers in the business for around 100 years in total. Johann Samuel was born in 1771 in Döhlau/Hof (about 60 kms from Bayreuth) and was a...
Wow! What we have here is an ivory flute made around 1740, perhaps in England. The flute is beautifully made and features a solid-silver key. The profiles are very finely and masterfully turned and demonstrate superior craftmanship. The embouchure is small and round and in perfect, original condition. The key...
Here is a stylish, reliable pocket metronome with an extremely accurate Swiss precision mechanism.This vintage Cadencia chrome-plated pocket metronome was made by Home Watch Co. Ltd. in Switzerland. It features a scale from 40 to 200 beats per minute. The centre hand regulates the beat while the hand pivoted at...
Ebonite was invented in 1839 by Charles Goodyear. He found that he could obtain a black material, which was rigid rather than elastic, by mixing together and heating latex and sulphur. The result was a hard rubber and it was given the name ebonite because both the colour and consistency were very similar to ebony (heartwood).
Ebonite would go on to be used in the manufacture of many objects including high-quality fountain pens, bowling balls, clocks, electrical insulating material or saxophone and clarinet mouthpieces.
Ebonite was also employed as an alternative material for making flute bodies. It seems it was first used in flute making in the mid-1800s by New-York-based Alfred G. Badger and other makers followed suit. It was thought to be very advantageous as a material because it did not absorb water, was durable and difficult to break. It was also a bad conductor of heat which meant that alterations in air temperature would not affect the pitch of the flute.
The famous ‘Giorgi Flute’ was made entirely of ebonite (with metal rings) rather than wood by the London firm Joseph WALLIS & Son Limited in around 1900. It was not only constructed in this new hard rubber material, but had no keys!
