Rudall, Carte & Co, large holed (10.4mm). Carte
joined the Rudall & Rose company in 1850; it was later renamed
Rudall, Carte and Co after Rose's death. This flute is very late
for an 8 key, coming a full fifty years after Boehm released his
cylindrical flute and seventy six years after the start of the company.
The original is No 7174, now in the hands of Ms Alex Offord, an Irish
flute player in Canberra (see Southerly Breeze CD).
The company's records remember it as: 21 July, 1896. Cocus,
conical, 8 G.S. [German silver] keys, knobs [i.e.
block-mounted, not pillar-mounted]. Made by Holland [one of
RC's employees]. Sold 20 August, 1896 to R. Littlewood of
Huddersfield. [no prices recorded]. Being so late, we can
reasonably assume it has incorporated all the improvements made by the
company over the previous 76 years. This is a particularly
vibrant, large hole 8-key flute.
(For those seeking a Rudall based
large-holed instrument, I would recommend my "Rudall Perfected"
model. This is based on the best features of the two instruments
above, plus rather a lot of my own new work. This is a slender,
elegant, powerful, responsive instrument with great tone and excellent
tuning.)