R&R alert!
Patrick Olwell is selling his boxwood Rudall & Rose on ebay.
First Rudall that I have seen with a short foot.
I better go buy some lotto tickets…
Drool!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7395396310&indexURL=6#ebayphotohosting
A cutie.
Kevin Krell
IM PRES SIVE!
there is someone who buy souls in here?–>I need money! 
Hmm, there was a keyed Boxwood Rudall that went trough our shop about 2 years ago. It was an unusual situation as I recall, in that the owner wanted us to do some repair work on the instrument, and then it was going to Olwell. I wonder if this is that same flute?
Loren
Jon - You probably don’t need to save too much. I’d guess it wouldn’t go for much more than $960 or so…I mean it’s an old flute, and the polish is all worn off so it’s that light brown color. Not nearly as good or pretty as those nice as those keyed “Crystal” flutes on eBay right now.
Eric
I suspect so. A couple of years ago, I tried a flute of that description that belonged to a friend. It had a leak, and he sent it to “a company in Boston with a good reputation who had worked on it before,” and he traded it to Olwell. I had thought that one was a six-key, but I’m probably mis-remembering.
It’s quite a bit lighter than most Rudalls; a real sweetie to hold.
Yup, that sounds about right, although I seem to recall the flute not being a 6 key, but I could be mis-remembering as well! 
Loren
Who’s going to win it? Migoya or Kirby?
Charlie,
Yup, that’s the flute: I took a close look at the photos and recognized the barrel/ring cracks. I remember thinking that I would have been happier dealing with the repair differently, or even making a new barrel and Ivory rings, because we had the proper materials and could have matched the colors quite well. However I wasn’t given an option, and so I reglued the crack in that rather inelegant fashion you see in the photo, as I was instructed to do. Sealed the leaks, but certainly wasn’t pretty.
Loren
I am forwarding this message from Andrew:
You might tell them that it won’t be me.
Four key flutes were only for poor beginners by those days.
I don’t think I need any more.
A nice 8 key boxwood Rudall I would always fancy. I love them above all others, and I have only one.
Regards,Andrew
Ah well, good to see that even when someone is banned, they can simply have someone else post for them. Bravo.
Loren
Anyway, I for one am sorry Andrew is gone, but he is easy to keep in touch with!!!
Loren, did you play the flute? How did it sound?
Inquiring minds want to know 
Mary
I have such a boxwood Rudall that Andrew covets. I should call him. 
And Olwell’s notes on eBay aren’t exactly accurate. Rudall played an 8key boxwood flute to the end of his life, although according to his own writings to Boehm, he had a personal flute of that type that he liked quite a lot.
He was already a man of ~40 years old when he began the firm.
The Olwell-owned Rudall is unique, yes.
Note, though, that the case is not original.
My catalogue notes show it sold at Sotheby’s quite a few years ago in a “soft, pistol-style case”
What became of that case, however, is anyone’s guess.
Nevertheless…it should go for a better-than-fair price, I think.
But who knows with these things. Up and down and sideways.
dm
About 12 hours to go…
Whoops, sorry Mary, I missed this when you first posted it.
Yes, I did play the flute a fair bit, as I was the one charged with doing the repair work when the instrument come into the shop. However I don’t think it would be fair for me to offer a personal (and certainly subjective) opinion on how the flute sounds and plays at this time (while the auction is in progress.) For two reasons:
-
On a professional level, I think it would not be a good precedent to set -Let’s say you sent a flute to me for repair/restoration work, and you later decide to sell it on ebay. I think you’d not be terribly happy with me if I then publicly posted stating that I didn’t like the SOUND of the flute. I do feel it’s okay to talk about the technical aspects of a repair work done on an instrument, and give my opinion on related issues though, since that’s all pretty straight forward, and not terribly subjective in nature.
-
The flute has been in Patrick Olwell’s hands for some time now, and he may, or may not, have worked on the flute, so the instrument could very well play and sound differently than when it was on my bench.
In this case, I think anyone seriously interested would contact Mr. Olwell directly, with their questions, and then (rightly) rely on his outstanding reputation to take his word with regards to the condition, tone and playability if the instrument.
Hope that makes some sense Mary 
Loren
Yes, perfectly good sense! I feel silly now for even asking…
I would love to have seen and played it, though ~ rare treat!
Mary
3 hours …
And reserve still not met.
That last bid of $4,800.00 seems to have done it…
for historic value alone, it was a good price.
Now, if it plays as well as its good looks, then it’s an outstanding price!