Antique French Flute made of "Tortoise shell"

[Sillydill]

I was searching through the Dayton Miller Flute Collection when I came across this:



Here is a better view:



Maker Listed as "Denis Noblet" from second half of 19th. Century.

Medium = "Tortoise shell"

Would be an interesting flute to meet in person!

[German Whistler]

hope you wouldnt like to have an instrument made out of turtelshell?

that people in 19th century havent tought much about their inviroment is a pitty and a shame
but if people today would like something made out of turtelshell, i`d call ignorant

never mind when made, but that turtels have been slaughtered for food and shell so much,...caused that today they are endangerd and as a very important part of nature its realy bad for the whole world, even for us and the ones who never would think of such things
its realy much more a big problem as a pitty

if u ask me, burn that flute or if its something special, put it in a museum
but dont "apreaciate" what has been done in the past what shouldnt had been done

[Sillydill]

Hey German Whistler,

Not to Worry!

I'm pretty sure genuine Tortoise shell is much to thin to turn a flute out of.

So this was probably some early Ebonite or Acrylic type material (that is to say man-made).

[I.D.10-t]

The Dayton Miller collection also has a recorder that has a boxwood body with a Tortoise shell veneer. It may be possible that the flute has a similar construction.

[German Whistler]

Hey German Whistler,

Not to Worry!

I'm pretty sure genuine Tortoise shell is much to thin to turn a flute out of.

So this was probably some early Ebonite or Acrylic type material (that is to say man-made).

i am glad u are not a fan of real turtelshell
but are you sure they used acrylic material in the 19th century?

[Doug_Tipple]

People in previous centuries were really not aware of the environmental consequences of their actions. However, we have much more data and are more aware. Still, there is a lot of misdoing with regard to the environment. You can appeal to people with facts, because they have a heart. Corporations, however, are heartless. They see the bottom line, which is money and a positive balance sheet for the stockholders. Corporations, for the most part, are not that concerned with the environment only in so far as they are required to act like they do. It makes me sad to have to report this.

[jim stone]

Anyhow flutes made of real tortoise shell play way too slowly.

[Jon C.]

Could have been made from Cellulose, which has been around since the 1830's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose

[s1m0n]

..put it in a museum..

It's already in one. The Dayton Miller collection is housed in the Library of Congress in Washington.

[Mr.Gumby]

I don't quite see the rationale that makes you say we shouldn't appreciate the craftmanship of generations past. Or worse, burn artefacts that were made in a material we currently don;'t approve of.

Extremely fine carvings have been done in ivory. We can appreciate the delicate craftmanship and appreciate the beauty of the material used. And maybe think 'well, we don't do that anymore. We think differently about these things now.' Whatever do you think to gain by destroying these things? I am quite sure a next generation will think about the same about the waste and destruction caused by the use of tropical hardwoods. Do we start burning flutes now or will we begin disappreciating them for starters? Silly stuff.

[LorenzoFlute]

I'm with mr. Gumby here.

[jemtheflute]

Me too. I rather doubt, however, though I could be wrong, that it would really be viable to merge up enough natural turtle shell to make rods suitable for turning into a flute, or even mould it around a mandrel, for all that the material is a natural thermoplastic and can be "welded" together and repeatedly reshaped. It would take an awful lot of it at any rate, so if this flute is natural tortoiseshell, it must be pretty much a one-off show-piece. Celluloid substitute tortoiseshell was available by the 1880s, and I guess that it is far more likely that that is what this flute is. Mind you celluloid is rather flammable, so no red hot reels or charanga, please!

Edit: Ok, here's the DCM listing
There's no positive confirmation there, but obviously the writer believed it is natural tortoiseshell. I wonder if the modern curators have ever checked?

[maki]

One of the reasons that people didn't care about the consequences of enviromental damage isn't ignorance, it's poverty. Same as today.

[jim stone]

It just takes lots of turtles.

As Mr. G says, one can appreciate the product for its craftsmanship while abhorring the process that created it.
Of course we're all on the side of the turtles.

[maki]

It just takes lots of turtles.

As Mr. G says, one can appreciate the product for its craftsmanship while abhorring the process that created it.
Of course we're all on the side of the turtles.

And they are on our side too!