This Buffet Jeune flute was made with expert precision. With the right restoration work, it would once again be a fantastic instrument and certainly an eyecatcher!

At the moment, it has some minor issues which can be easily fixed. Let’s look at the photos. The embouchure is original and has a very tiny dent. There is a hairline crack in the head joint, which is about 8 cm long but does not reach the embouchure. The metal inlay of the foot tenon seems to have come off and is now stuck on top of the right-hand tenon.

Its maker, Louis-Auguste BUFFET, known as Auguste Buffet jeune, was born in La Couture France. He was a younger brother of Denis BUFFET-AUGER (1783-1841). He started making instruments in his hometown in around 1813 and later set up his workshop in Paris. In addition to making exquisite flutes, he is also known for his work on improving the clarinet in collaboration with Hyacinthe Eléonore KLOSE (1808-1880). He is credited with the development of the needle spring on his Boehm flutes and clarinets too. His nephew and instrument maker Jean-Louis BUFFET (1813-1865) married Zoë CRAMPON in 1836. The company would be known as Buffet-Crampon from around 1844.

This exquisite Buffet Jeune flute plays at a=440 Hz with the head joint fully inserted. It has a bright and shiny Romantic sound and yes… it is even supplied in its original case.

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