Antique Flute value?

[schmoopie]

I have an antique flute with no markings.  Does anyone have any idea of the value or how I can find out the value.  Thanks

[waywardangler]

Looks like ivory and wood?  I would look very, very carefully on the barrel parts of the wood as the maker's mark may be very, very faint due to age or wear (especially if the mark was where it was held).  It looks like a quality old instrument so there should be an impressed mark somewhere on the wood parts.  Try this site http://www.springersmusic.co.uk/Library/Woodwind.htm
Are you sure it is a flute and not a piccolo? 

The value in old or antique instruments usually lies in whether or not they can be played and their playing quality.  Quality instruments with excellent sound are what musicians look for.  Have you taken it to your local music shop that repairs instruments?  They usually go over them for no charge and estimate what it would cost to repair and what it would be worth in playing condition (at least they do in my area).  I have a 1931 2-tone gold plated Sax I paid $20 for that needs all new pads and a thorough cleaning/polishing that would cost $900 for the shop to do but only $120 if I do it.  The difference was in the hand polishing/cleaning.  My elbow grease is free while theirs is not.  The end result would be a $1200 instrument.

[schmoopie]

Thank you, I appreciate your information.

[talesofthesevenseas]

What a BEAUTIFUL instrument! I would have this looked at by a pro who deals specifically in these. Looking at the examples on these sites, I think yours is going to command a good price. I'm guessing the material is some form of ebony and ivory? Look at the ivory and see if you can see a double criss-crossing grain. The crack may be a problem depending on how serious it is. I have heard that ivory can actually "heal" itself placed in the right environment, so that might be something to look into. That floral piece at the top of the photo looks like the tail piece from a violin, it holds the strings at the bottom. Although I can't see it in the photo, it should have four holes along the top of  the flower where the strings go through.
http://members.tripod.com/~Music_Treasures/antiflut.htm
http://www.antiqueflutes.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi number 877 is kind of like yours

[waywardangler]

One that looks very similar to yours sold on this site for 145 pounds English or about $225 US http://www.pamelasmusic.co.uk/Flutes.htm

[talesofthesevenseas]

Wow. That is a big difference in price from what I was seeing in the sites I posted above Wayward. Another good reason to have it ID'd by a pro to make sure of exactly what you've got there. Is there any indication of a maker on the case or country of origin? If it were mine, I'd contact those high-end price guys in Culver City CA and see if they would be willing to tell you anything with a photo. Depends on how they do business, if they would give you an honest assessment or if they would try to get you to sell it to them for a lower price so that they could resell it. I'd give it a shot and see what they say.

Here's a photo of an floral violin tailpiece for reference. There are lots of these, but it yours is antique it could be worth more than the modern ones, which are very common. Although looking again at the photo... I'm sure hoping the top of the tailpiece isn't sawed off?!!!

[waywardangler]

I agree talesof, schmoopie should have it looked at by a professional because there is a BIG difference in quality depending on who made it.  A photo is not the same as an inperson examination.  An inspection would also note any problems or repairs needed.

Interesting note on the violin tailpiece talesof.  I did not catch that piece sitting in the cover and I played violin many. many years ago.  Very astute catch.  I wonder where the rest of the violin is?  If it was as old as the flute the violin or bow could also be worth a good sum.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Wayward, I've played both flute and violin. Badly I'm afraid. I have a wonderful antique violin that has amazing dark tone that is sitting unplayed because I finally got tired of inflicting my practice sessions on my family and the neighbors! Good antique bows can be high-dollar items especially. Every one has a unique personality and the strength and flex is as unique to each bow as it was to the tree it came from. There's quite a science to it all. I have a neat old bow with a shell frog, also sitting and waiting for me to pick it up again! The most interesting piece is my violin case. It's an old coffin case that when I replaced the liner I found writing in the bottom of it- the names of a family of children who once owned it in the 1800's and a note from the guy who restored the case with an old style phone number. I tracked him down and had a nice conversation with his widow, who had no idea her husband had left a "message in a bottle" in the bottom of the case.

OK I'd better not hijack this topic and get back to the subject of the wonderful old flute! :-)

[schmoopie]

Wow..You are very knowledgeable and helpful!  I had no idea that that was a violin tailpiece, I was pretty sure it was not part of the flute.  And yes. you are correct, the tailpiece has been sawed off.  Your story was very interesting too.

[talesofthesevenseas]

How strange that someone would do that to a tailpiece! Unfortunate too since it couldn't be used without the holes.

[schmoopie]

I posted another photo of the grain of what appears to be ivory.

[talesofthesevenseas]

I'm not an expert and just learned about this recently, but looks like ivory grain to me. Anyone else want to weigh in on that?

[waywardangler]

It also looks like ivory to me.  Schmoopie, have you found any maker marks yet?  I would especially look around all the barrel ends under a bright light and magnification.  A maker's name would help immensely.

[schmoopie]

I have inspected the entire flute with a magifying glass, not a trace of any names or marks on it. 

[schmoopie]

Thanks for everyones help.  I went back over the flute with my magnifying glass again and found the manufactures name very, very faintly on the ivory portion of the flute.  It's German, nach H. F. Meyer ebony and ivory 12 key flute.  I should be able to get a good idea of it's value now.