I found a Clementi.....Pics added

[Julia C]

Hi guys,
I wondered if anyone knows anything please ?about my new flute (as of today) Found Lurking in a corner of a london antique shop, - I just couldn't leave it languishing there - a boxwood one-key Clementi with lovely ivory cap & rings, no cracks ,concert pitch too. I'm just getting the thread out to do the tenons & oil it & I'll let you know how it sounds!
I have found info on Clementi's Nicholson type flutes and the maker's stamp is the same as on those Nicholsons shown on the web.

Julia C

[Jay-eye]

Wow! Congratulations, Julia.

Sorry, I know nothing, but I bet I'd have bought it too!

j.i.

[Jon C.]

Hi Julia,
That is a awsome find! Congratulations!
We must have pictures!
What shape is the key? Square or round? Any serial #? How big are the holes? Is it stained boxwood or natural?
So many questions...
Jon

[pandscarr]

Hi Julia,

On a workshop last summer, one of the other fluters had a Clementi 1-key which I had a play of... it was lovely, nice sound but quite quiet compared to later 8-key flutes. Sounds like a great opportunity - was it a bargain?

Did you buy the other flute, or take this instead?

regards,

Pamela

[Julia C]

Well here are some pics: Jon talked me into it (not difficult!)

http://www.ofoto.co.uk/BrowsePhotos.jsp ... 0618600733

The holes are medium to small I'd say tho' (other than the 5th hole) the same size as a Dixon 3 piece. The embouchure is a bit smaller than a Dixon but very sensitive & easy to be expressive with. The sound is, now it's oiled & greased, louder than I expected, very mellow & woody, and I'll be interested to hear it once I've had a chance to get used to it. I've never played an unlined wooden flute before.So comfy to play because it weighs so little, I can't believe it plays so well straight off after what looks like a long time on the shelf. And going on 180 years old judging by Terry McGee's timechart. Playing 15 min bursts only! I'm being good!
A bargain? Well, probably paid a fair price, it was not a total steal shall we say and I probably shouldn't have.....but I just couldn't leave it there ! I may not keep it forever as I will need the money to accquire the modern session cannon of my dreams, but we'll see how things go.
Hi Pamela, the other flute is still in the shop, I chickened out of facing a stuck slide....... but if it's still there next payday I might be tempted to risk it.
J.I., aren' t there any old flute bargains hiding in the Midlands? Surely! (my old stomping ground, as my avatar may suggest)

[Cayden]

I found a very similar boxwood Potter in an antique shop in Galway recently. the shop was looking for 6 or 700 euro. I left it there. Looked gorgeous though.

[Jon C.]

Hi Julia,
That is a very rare find, a flute in it's original playing condition! Considering it is from the late 18th century, you can only imagine where it has been all these years...
I would thing that the flute would be tuned for about A= 415, I think that was the fashion at the time. Check Rick Wilson's site: http://www.oldflutes.com/baroq.htm#3
You might also visit the Earlyflute site:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/earlyflute/
The unlined boxwood has a very mellow sound, as Jessie will tell you. (Has she tryed to buy it yet?)
Be very carefull with it. It might be a good idea, to help the humidifcation process to put the flute in a sealed container with a sponge or paper towel, (not touching the flute!) for about a month. That is, when you are not playing it. That way it will give it a chance to humidify the outside of the flute as well. I had a bad experence with one of these old boxwood unlined flutes; I was breaking it in slowly for about a month, and one day I played it longer, (no self control, it was sounding so nice...) and tthere was a very loud CRACK! It sounded like someone smashing a yardstick on a desk top! I turned over the headjoint and it had a 6" crack in it.
This effect is called hoop stress, when the inside of the flute becomes moist form playing, and the outside of the flute is dry. The inside starts expanding, the outside is staying the same. The boxwood is about what 80 or 90psi, that is how much weight it takes to dent it. (I think) Anyway when it meets it's threshhold, CRACK!
I like the box too!
Jon

[Julia C]

Jon, many thanks for your advice. The flute is so old it feels like a responsibility!! I am being very careful indeed - happily old London England is so very damp at the moment I think the weather is on my side. Sorry to hear about your crack! Horror! Also the antique shop was not too dry an atmosphere. I oiled it yesterday in the bore and end-grain with almond oil on a paintbrush, carefully and sparingly, and it drank it up gratefully - I'll do so every 3 days for a week or 2 , do you think that's wise?
Someone has loved this flute in the recent past - the box was made for it maybe within 25 years of the present and it really is a good 'un, fits like a glove, nice dovetails & scalloped bits for lifting the pieces of flute out. (Sorry I'm also a woodworker & I enjoy seeing care spent on these things!)
Re: the pitch, actually with the tenons all in the "g" when played sounds the same as my Dixon 3 piece, rather to my surprise it's not appreciably higher in pitch.
If anyone IS interested in it let me know as I really have my heart set on a modern session honker & this is a bit specialist for my needs - but I had to rescue it from the shop & try it out!

[kevin m.]

Lovely looking flute(I LOVE the look of matured Boxwood).
I'd say take it slow and easy,but as you say,we are inthe damp U.K.,not Arizona,so things could be worse.
Looks like you have a nice buy.
Do you have any other one keyed Flutes?

[treeshark]

Julia,
If you want an expert to look at your flute, this might be the venue,
http://www.e-m-s.com/exhib/exstart.html
Lots of beautiful period flutes and makers of beautiful reproductions.
I'm scared of going in case I spend money!

[Julia C]

Hi Kevin, no this is my first 1 key flute, but I like the configuration. Do you have any?
And Treeshark, THANKS SO MUCH for letting me know about the early music festival -I'll certainly be going (leaving my much abused wallet in a bunker somewhere) - I had no idea it was on.

[Jon C.]

The flute is so old it feels like a responsibility!! I am being very careful indeed - happily old London England is so very damp at the moment I think the weather is on my side. Sorry to hear about your crack! Horror! Also the antique shop was not too dry an atmosphere. I oiled it yesterday in the bore and end-grain with almond oil on a paintbrush, carefully and sparingly, and it drank it up gratefully - I'll do so every 3 days for a week or 2 , do you think that's wise?

Ya, it is kind of scary, having something so nice, truly museum quality!
Sounds like you are going about it right, I forget that everyone doesn't live in sunny California... That is probably how the flute has lasted so long without cracking, though, if the room is heated with a furnace, it will dry out the air. You might get a humidity guage to see how the room is, or store it in a air-tight container.

Re: the pitch, actually with the tenons all in the "g" when played sounds the same as my Dixon 3 piece, rather to my surprise it's not appreciably higher in pitch.
If anyone IS interested in it let me know as I really have my heart set on a modern session honker & this is a bit specialist for my needs - but I had to rescue it from the shop & try it out

If the pitch is A=415 or even A= 430 it will be lower not higher in pitch.
I dought it would be A=460 that was probably 60 years later, when they had the "romanic tuning" and tuned it higher pitch. You can always keep this flute to doodle around on, by the roaring fireplace, and get one of those monster 8 keys to blast out the accordians and fiddles!
Jon

[kevin m.]

Sorry for the delay,Julia.
I have two Boxwood one key Flutes(both 19th c.)
The first is marked 'J.C. Haynes',who were American sellers of mainly European anon)instruments.
The second is a 'Goulding and co.'.the Flute appears to be original in the main(inc. Ivory bands),but the head piece is undoubtably a replacement-though very well done.
These Flutes aren't session cannons by any means( ),but are delightful to play-I particularly enjoy playing Carolan and slow airs on them.

[Julia C]

Hi Kevin, that's two nice sounding flutes - do you know a good recording of Carolan tunes I can look out for?
I have just found I can noodle on this Clementi late in the evening without annoying my neighbours as it doesn't have a cutting sound! hooray no more flute curfew!

And Jon - you've shown up just how little I understand about pitch!! Still, I know it when I hear it - just as well I guess :roll:
I have taken your humidifier advice with a damp paper towel in a plastic cash bag with some pinholes in it. It worked too, the flute felt ever so slightly less bone dry to the touch when I took it out this evening. Thanks for the tip. Have you made a boxwood model yet?[/quote]

[Jon C.]

Hi Julia,
The pitch thing is all subjective, until you play with a accordian...
What is the playing length of your flute? That is from the center of the embourchure to the end of the short foot? That will give you an idea of the pitch. Or you could use a tuner.
I did a search for Clementi 1 key flutes. There was one I found that claimed to have a A=450hz tuning from 1803, I thought they weren't using the high pitch yet... I think that yours is 1790's. Maybe the maker's mark will hold the clue to it's age???
I haven't made a boxwood flute yet... Only a head joint for an old english flute. It's nice to turn, but a little on the dry side, when you have to ream it. I am waiting for Eilam to cut loose with some of his Euro boxwood he has stashed... I made a flute out of Hollywood, it is pure white, and very light. I had problems with the head joint, so I haven't finished it yet.
Jon