Swanee whistles – who was behind the name?

Swanee whistle

Slide whistles or lotus flutes made of ebonite stamped Swanee often show up at auctions and for sale on websites. They can be great fun, but also challenging to play, especially if you want to get a decent melody out of one. People call them Swanee whistles, lotus flutes, slide whistles, piston flutes or even Jazz flutes and that’s that. They are generally marked with a registered design number, and almost always ‘Made in London’, but who was the person behind the name registered design mark Swanee?

It seems that the swanee whistle can be dated back to at least the 1840s. It was then manufactured by the DISTIN family of brass instrument musicians and was used in the concerts the members of the family played. An instrument making business was set up called Distin & Co which was later sold to Boosey (later Boosey & Hawkes). Slide whistles were also produced by the English firms Stevens & Son and H A Ward.

Registered design and patent

Then in the 1920s, the registered design and patents for the name ‘SWANEE’ would be filed than by a certain Samuel Bowley BARNES.

In the Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office of 1922, we read that serial number 165,004 was filed by Samuel BOWLEY BARNES, doing business as Barnes and Mullins, London, England and filled on June 5, 1922. The name was SWANEE and the description of goods was Wind Musical Instrument in the nature of a whistle. It also said that it claims use since April 2, 1921.

Later in 1926, in the Strand Magazine, London there are adverts for the ‘Swanee’ Sazzafone, is claimed to be a companion to the Swanee whistle.  It stresses that ‘Anyone can play any tune in any key or pitch’. London made, registered design No. 709213. We should sing into it to get the right saxophone and muted trumpet or trombone effects 😊. In the same year, there are also adverts for a Swanee Bag-pipe Vamper to reproduce saxophone, muted trumpet and clarionet (old word for clarinet) effects.

In 1927, Samuel Bowley Barnes would go on to patent the ‘Swanee Sax’. This instrument had a saxophone mouthpiece and a conical bore construction with a slide along its length. It had no keys and no buttons to press and therefore easy to play – what could go wrong? Unfortunately, it didn’t play very well in tune and therefore was no match for the conventional saxophone.

Samuel Bowley Barnes

So, who was Samuel? He was half of the partnership of BARNES and MULLIN. Samuel Bowley Barnes (1872-1932) and Albert Edward Mullins (1872-1914) were friends from the county of Dorset in southern England. It seems they worked and grew up together and shared the same interest in banjos and played as a duo. They started a fretted instrument magazine and began selling mandolins and banjos.  They moved to London and in 1895, their wholesale musical instruments and merchandise business opened at Rathbone Place, just of Oxford Street, in London. They sold mainly banjos and mandolins which they bought in from makers. They went on to have their own ‘brand’ of instruments – yet still made by others. Later they opened an own workshop in Harrow, Middlesex.

The friendship and partnership ended very unexpectedly and sadly as a result of a little-known tragedy. We’ve all heard of the Titanic, which sank in 1912. From its estimated 2,224 passengers and crew, more than 1500 lost their lives. But few people know about the ill-fated Empress of Ireland.

The Empress of Ireland was a British ocean liner that sank while sailing on the Saint Lawrence River in Canada as a result of a collision in extremely thick fog with a Norwegian coal ship called Storstad on May 29, 1914.

A total of 1,477 passengers and crew embarked in Quebec and 1,012 lost their lives. Sadly, among them was Albert Mullins and his daughter Eileen. Albert Mullins was on 2-year business trip and round the world tour with his family. His son Dick had stayed at home to study. His wife Kate survived to return to home to their son. Samuel Barnes continued with the business and his son Mark after him. The company moved to Oswestry, Shropshire where it still exists today.

Swanee Whistle range

The Swanee whistle range included six models:

‘SWANEE WHISTLE’ Presentation Concert Model

‘SWANEE WHISTLE’ Model de Luxe

‘SWANEE WHISTLE’ Ordinary Model

‘SWANEE PICCOLO’

‘SWANEE’ Nightingale

‘SWANEE’ Flute

There’s more company information, great photos of Samuel & Albert, plus a detailed account of the maritime tragedy on the company website. A big thanks goes to BARNES and MULLIN for the visuals provided for this article!!!  We love the inspiring slogan ‘Be your own musician!’

Image courtesy of BARNES and MULLIN
Image courtesy of BARNES and MULLIN
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E. Rittershausen, Berlin

One of the beautiful stories of mythology tells of the way the first musical instrument was suggested. As the story runs, as Orpheus was walking along the shores of the sea, his foot struck a reed that had been cast up by the waters, and had dried in the sun. The reed gave forth a soft, sweet sound as it was made to vibrate by the stroke of Orpheus’ foot and the result was the lyre or hand-harp of the ancient Egyptians. A similar story, and probably the same one adapted to the wind instruments, is that of Lucretius which says that “the simple flute had its origin from the breathing of western winds over certain reeds,” and thus was suggested the musical pipe, or simple tube, which has developed into one of the most fascinating of instruments.

The most elaborate and beautiful collection of flutes ever displayed in the United States, and probably in the world, was seen by visitors to the German section of the Columbian Exposition. The display was that of E. Rittershausen, of Berlin. It was arranged in a large, square glass case, and consisted of flutes made of various woods, of Ebonite and of sterling silver. The Rittershausen flutes are the standard of the world, and have received the indorsement of the best performers upon this favorite instrument. Until 1832 the flute was not regarded as a perfect instrument. In that year Theobald Boehm, of Munich, brought the instrument to such a degree of perfection as to make it one of the most prominent of orchestral and solo instruments. The Rittershausen flutes are made exactly upon the Boehm system, and with such wondrous skill and delicacy of workmanship as to have long since become the favorite of discriminating flutists. It is, in fact, the instrument universally referred to when the Boehm flute is desired.

Like the illustrious Boehm, Mr. Rittershausen is also a virtuoso as well as a manufacturer, devoting his entire faculties to the production of a perfect flute. By his own practical skill he is enabled to appreciate the many details and requirements in the construction of such an instrument as is demanded by the most fastidious virtuoso. This, it will readily be seen, is an invaluable consideration in the selection of a flute by a skilled performer. And in the rapid progress of musical culture of America, there are many lovers of the beautiful instrument who are its admirers and enthusiastic students at the present time.

Living in the musical city of Berlin, Mr. Rittershausen is thrown in personal contact with the greatest flutists of Europe, thereby receiving many suggestions from them that are of incalculable benefit in the manufacture of his instruments. The Rittershausen factory is located at 107 Bergmann street, Berlin, and its product has been famous from the establishing of the present business in 1870. Each year adds largely to the number of Rittenhausen-Boehm flutes in use in America, and they have received the highest testimonials from the most famous composers and performers in this country as well as those abroad. The American representative of the Rittershausen flutes is Mr. Carl Fischer, No. 6 Fourth Avenue, New York.

Musical Instruments at the World’s Columbian Exposition – Frank D. Abbottt, Charles A. Daniell – 1895 – P. 200