20050626-hall

ca. 1877 William Hall
(click on pictures for larger verzion)

VINTAGE WM. HALL & SON WOOD FLUTE 1877 W/ ORIGINAL CASE

William Hall was born May 13th 1796 and was apprenticed to a Military Instrument maker in Albany NY until 1812 when he enlisted in the militia¦. He moved to New York after the war being one of the founders of "Firth, Pond & Hall", then in 1847 he joined with his son to form the independent firm "Hall & Son" to make "Fine Flutes".

That brings us to this all Rosewood and German Silver flute which dates from pre-1877; it is clearly marked on the original case "1877 Flute" scratched into the wood finish. There is also a delightful hand drawn figure of a flute player scratched into the back of the case (see photo). Every indication is that the figure was drawn by the owner of the flute as an identifying mark as well as are the hand carved raised initials of "A H G" on the front of the case. The original interior of the case is beautifully contoured to fit the flute and has been relined with green velvet (the original blue cotton lining was in tatters and full of worm holes), plus the latch on the case is still fully functional.

Now to the flute itself: It is in near perfect condition both visually and play-wise. It has four hand made German Silver keys, block mounted with brass pins. The tone holes are all flawless and are beautifully center-raised and channeled. All the pads are new and seated with the springs cleaned and adjusted for very easy pressure. The tenons have been recorked and slide easily with no leaks. The head joint is brass lined and fits snugly into the tuning barrel which is fully and easily adjustable. The crown and cork assembly are in perfect condition and the embouchure hole crisp and clean. The only flaw I can find is a small nick in the foot joint bottom finishing ring. It is a beautiful flute and has a warm full sound.

As always, click on any picture for the larger verzion: these may take a while to download on dial-up!

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