For Sale or Swap - French 5-key flute by Nonon

Terry McGee · Post by **Terry McGee** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 11:45 pm

Hi all.

Michael is looking to sell a 5-key French flute or swap for a wooden Boehm. Please contact him directly at the address below. I haven't seen the flute and can't comment on it.

Terry

Jacques Nonon flute for sale-a very rare and fine 19th centuty flute.Nonon
was the flute maker for the legendary Tulou Flute Co.. They were partners between 1831-1853. This flute was built soon after their partnership dissolved-(circa 1855 app) when Nonon built flutes under his own name. This flute is stamped with the "Treble Clef "and "Nonon Paris" on all four sections. The flute is pitched in "C" with its lowest note being "D" and plays at A=440. It is a 5 key flute -silver keys (german). The wood is of a beautiful Cocus wood and still retains the polished sheen from it's original laquer. The padding has been recently re-done and the keys polished. All in all, the flute really looks like new. The only defects are a couple of expansion cracks at the bulbous end of the head joint (over the metal sleeve) which are almost always found on flutes of
this vintage. They have been repaired and do not, in any way affect it's
playability. It has a lovely sweet "french" tone.

If this is of interest to you,kindly e-mail me.

Thanks,
M.D.
New York City

X2BKIND@aol.com

andrewK · Post by **andrewK** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 2:58 am

What is " silver keys - German " supposed to mean ?
NOT silver keys, I suppose !
Isn't 440 a strange pitch for it to play in unless it is very early?

le_koukou · Post by **le_koukou** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 6:37 am

I found this on those figures for the pitch values:

Paris 1810 : 423 Hz.
London 1815 : 423 Hz.(Royal Philarmonic)
Paris 1823 : 431,3Hz
London 1826 : 433 Hz.
Paris 1830 : 435,75 Hz
London 1874 : 455 Hz.
New-York 1880 : 475 Hz.

The standard A=440Hz was adopted only in 1953!

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 7:38 am

I notice a trend from low to high in pitch, so...

Paris 1830 : 435,75 Hz
London 1874 : 455 Hz.

A=440 may have been in vogue in some cities between the two above listed dates. With the flute circa 1855 the pitch seems right on.

Eric

andrewK · Post by **andrewK** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 7:58 am

The 435 ( International ) pitch was in use in Paris through most of Nonon's working life. It seems to have been only the Paris Opera which was working at around 441 or so through the middle years of the century.
I don't know where London comes into the reckoning !
Remember Lot was supplying flutes usually at 435 in the 1870s, describing 440-450 as the old pitch.

seisflutes · Post by **seisflutes** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 10:41 am

"The flute is pitched in "C" with its lowest note being "D"..."

Er...what?

I haven't heard of that before. Is it a typo? Or is it an actual weird thing that I don't know about?

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 11:22 am

The bottom note is D so we say they're in the key of D (and diatonically, they're tuned to the key of D). That said, they are non-transposing instruments (a C on your flute matches a C on the piano), so historically they were listed as being in the key of C (like a boehm flute).

Clear as mud?

Eric