- Made in New York circa 1885
- Silver body
- 0.010″ seamed tubing
- Soldered tone holes
- Closed hole
- Pointed keys
- Offset G
- B-to-C shake
- B-foot with left-hand lever
- D# teardrop key
- Ebonite headjoint
- Embouchure: 10.35 mm x 13.00 mm
- Weight: 430 g
- Head sounding length: 151 mm
- Sounding length: 616 mm
- Traditional scale
- A=448 Hz
- Includes a Haynes silver headjoint
American flutemaker Alfred Badger (1814-1892) opened his workshop in 1838. He first produced superb conical Boehm flutes before switching to cylindrical Boehm flutes in the early 1850s. By the 1860s, he had settled on a combination of French pointed arms and German-covered keys, a style Verne Powell would later refer to as the American model.
This flute has several unique features. First is its ebonite headjoint. Ebonite is a form of hard rubber to mimic ebony wood. The sound quality of this headjoint has many characteristics consistent with a hardwood headjoint. With its embouchure cut, the sound is sweet and direct. There is also a brilliance that projects the sound, even at a soft volume.
The second feature is a left-hand lever to close the low B tone hole without a low B touch key on the foot. This design is seen on several Louis Lot flutes.
The third is more subtle. It’s the clutch design on the right side of the G# tone hole, reminiscent of Louis Lot flutes during Henri Villette’s ownership.
The fourth feature is its high pitch, A448. Pitch wasn’t standardized to A440 in the United States until 1917. Until then, instruments were constructed at various pitches. Badger mostly pitched his flutes higher than the current standard pitch.
The scale is remarkably even at A448. Intonation is stable between the left and right hands and easy to control as you travel down the low register into the right hand.
Jon Landell completely restored the flute in 2018. Since then, it has been played very little. The handmade pads are in virtually new condition. Its original case is also in very good condition. The case key has been lost to time, so the case no longer latches.
Overall, this is an exceptional instrument for chamber music, with instruments that can be tuned to a higher pitch. It also makes a fine instrument for pieces written for solo flute, such as Bach’s Partita in A minor. A Haynes headjoint with a longer tenon is included with this flute to play at A440.
Price: $3,000
Sold as is. Sales tax applies to purchases within California. For inquiries on purchasing, please contact Gary Lewis.
