Ward Liverpool, Any ideas?

[matinmidiswa]

Hi there,

I've come across this flute. It's stamped Ward Liverpool. I'm no expert on flutes of this period so am hoping someone out there can give me further info. Any ideas on age / value?

Any help appreciated
Máirt

[matinmidiswa]

Maybe try this...

[Terry McGee]

Roger J. Ward, woodwinds and brass, Liverpool 1848-1931. If you have any address info, we can narrow that down.

Also found:
In 1803 Roger J.Ward opened a musical instrument shop in Liverpool in which he
sold the brass band instruments fashioned by hand. Some 67 years later(1870),
his son Richard Joseph Ward had acquired the business and,with his sons, had
established a flourishing shop and factory at 10 and 12 St Anne Street Liverpool.
By 1905 the firm, although still advertising itself as 'Military Band Instrument
Manufacturers' had added banjos and mandolins to the instruments they made and
sold. Their smooth-arm banjos had ornately engraved nickel silver encased hoops,
with the neck and perchpoles made of solid ebony, highly polished. The fingerboards
were made of richly engraved nickel sliver. Some of the banjos were made with
hoops as large as 16” and all were fitted with pegs of the push in type
made of ivory. It is possible the banjos made by R.J.Ward and sons of Liverpool
were made individually by a lone workman for your author has seen an instrument
marked made for B.Chamberlain by R.J. Ward & sons Liverpool' The firm closed
down about 1931 but is believed they ceased making bajos some years before this
date.
hand note -surely 'made BY B Chamberlain FOR R.J.Ward?

Terry

[kenny]

I have a book on loan from the Aberdeen University library at the moment - "Flutes, Flautists & Makers ( active or born before 1900 )", by Andrew Fairley, published in 1982. It has the following to say about R.J.Ward.

"Woodwind and brass maker in Liverpool, England, from 1848. He was probably the son of Cornelius Ward
( q.v. ). He produced cornets and ophicleides, mainly for the military.
Flutes bearing his name were probably the work of his father. In 1889he showed woodwind and brass at the Paris Exhibition and the business was last heard of in 1931".

There is also an entry for the above-mentioned Cornelius Ward, which is a bit longer, and I'll only post it if someone expresses an interest.

[Terry McGee]

Be aware there were two Cornelius Wards ( how weird is that?). One was in London (the famous one), the other in Liverpool appears to have been related to Roger.

Terry

[kenny]

Yer man Fairley only mentions one Cornelius [ J. ] Ward. Here's an abridged piece from the entry :

"Woodwind maker in Liverpool, England, from 1805. He moved to London in about 1815, where he worked for a while with Monzani
( q.v. ) before setting up on his own".

"Ward's work was of the highest quality and he was always willing to try out new ideas. He was author of "The Flute Explained" published in London in 1884. [*] The business ceased in 1870. He composed solos for flute".

[ * ] Fairley doesn't seem to have noticed the time difference here. If he was a woodwind maker in 1805, and had his book published in 1884, that's 79 years difference. Terry's information about there being 2 "Cornelius Wards" looks much more probable.

There is a small illustration of a "C. Ward flute of c1842 ( foot keys operated by left thumb )".

[jemtheflute]

Aside from the maker/stamp info, no-one has answered the OP's other queries!

Here goes: I'd need measurements to be sure, but what your picture shows is an absolutely typical mid-late C19th band flute, probably a (treble) Bb "band flute" (if it is c 36-39cm overall length) or just possibly a piccolo (if it is around 28-31cm). Little one-to-six key toots like this were churned out in their thousands between say 1830 and 1930 for use in marching bands from the military to Boys Brigades, works bands and Orange bands. Many were cheap and nasty; some were excellent.

Most were made for a significantly higher pitch standard than modern A=440, and so are of relatively little practical use or value today, especially if like yours they have no tuning slide. Many of the still existing marching bands (mostly in N. Ireland) do still use high pitch instruments, but would be very unlikely to be interested in an old, slide-less one-keyer like this. You can find out more by using this forum's search tool on "band flute" etc. Such flutes are very common on eBay and in junk shops etc. and unless you have an exceptional player at modern pitch, they are worth in the £20-60 price range depending on condition. (You can verify this with a suitably targetted completed listings search on eBay). Most are anonymous (or just marked "London made" or similar), so the specific marque and Liverpool association may add a little interest/value, especially in Liverpool. Certain marques, primarily Hawkes Crown AZ, can command much higher prices - do not be misled by those - even other Hawkes models don't get those prices.

All that said, some of these can be very sweet players and fun to play about with. If it is at modern pitch it can potentially be used in company, though there's not much call for the key of Bb; but if as is most likely it is HP, well, unless you're going to join an HP marching band, it's private, solo, home use only, really (assuming it is in playable fettle).

[matinmidiswa]

Hello all,

Many thanks for all the feedback. I'll see if I can get measurements to you Jem. It's currently with a friend, so I can't comment on the playability of it, or how loud she barks.

The Makers stamp says, Ward & Son, 10 St. Anne St., Liverpool. So I guess that confirms what you said Terry.

Cheers for now,
Máirt.

[Terry McGee]

Ah, that's useful. Ward & Son, Anne St sets it between 1870-83.

The Flute Explained is definitely the London Cornelius Ward. You can see it starting:

http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/Ward.htm

Terry