Flute, C, high pitch
Maker
Cornelius Ward
Date1842 ca.
Place MadeLondon, England, Europe
Serial No.None
SignedStamped on top of body joint: [curved] CORNELIUS WARD / INVENTOR / & / PATENTEE / 36 / [curved] GT TITCHFIELD ST / LONDON
Stamped on bottom of body joint, headjoint, and barrel: CORNELIUS WARD / FECIT /
LONDON / PATENTEE
MarkingsStamped on top of headjoint: (indicator dial numbers in circled orientation) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 6 5 4 3 2 1
Marked on tuning slide of headjoint: graduations 0, I, II, III, IV, V, VI, to correspond with the numbers on the terminator-indicator dial.
Description3 sections: one-piece body, barrel, and headjoint. Cocuswood(?) with silver keywork, ferrules, and endcap. Barrel and headjoints lined with metal. Conical bore. Ward's 1842 key system, with 7 fingerholes, 9 touchpieces, 6 rings, and terminator-indicator cork adjuster with dial on the exterior of headjoint. Long traction levers for foot keys (low C-sharp and low C) operated by left thumb. G-sharp key also operated by left thumb. Tuning slide on headjoint. Squarish embouchure hole.
Cornelius Ward (c.1796-1872) was one of London's makers specializing in flutes. Ward is considered to be the first manufacturer of Boehm's flutes in London, starting in 1839, but his instruments were pirated versions of Boehm's 1832 flute (it was not only until 1843 that Rudall & Rose began producing authorized models of Boehm's flutes). The "complexity" of the Boehm fingering system led Ward to develop a new system he patented in 1842 (patent no. 9229).
DimensionsOverall length: 660mm
Embouchure: 10.9mm x 10.9mm
Sounding length: 580mm
ProvenanceNo known provenance.
Published ReferencesKreitzer, Amy Shaw. "Transverse Flutes by London Makers, 1750-1900." M.M. thesis, University of South Dakota, 1993 (pp. 269-271)
Larson, André P. _The Shrine to Music Museum: A Pictorial Souvenir_. Vermillion, SD: The Shrine to Music Museum, 1988 (p.38)
Credit LineW. Wayne Sorensen Collection, 1982
Object number03081
On View
Not on view
