A rare silver flute from the workshop of William S. Haynes (1864 – 1939), serial number 16,559, made in Boston in March, 1941.
“Hand-made” pattern, stamped “sterling” on the head, body and foot. French (open holes) keywork, traditional French “in-line” G key, range to low C.
Body, head and foot are of .016 inch silver. Tone-holes are soldered, key arms extend over the pad-cups. Sounding length is 601 mm, which means the flute plays well at 440 pitch.
The embouchure is original, of 14K solid yellow-gold, marked “14K’ and measures 10.2 X 12.2mm. The flute weighs 426 grams.
The blue-lined case leather case (Haynes original ? ) dates from the seventies or eighties.
Engraving is sharp on the head and body sections and there is no evidence of dents or dings to the body. Hinge-tubes are still tight, indicating that the instrument’s been played very little in the past 82 years.
This particular flute exhibits superb workmanship, arguably quite different to that of modern instruments from the Haynes firm.
Highly recommended!
Flute questions?
Write me! Always glad to hear from flute people!
HG