Soprano recorder, C
Alternate name(s)
- Fifth flute
Maker
Benjamin Hallett
Date1736-1753 ca.
Place MadeLondon, England, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedStamped on all joints: 4 / HALLETTMarkingsKnot holes on the rear and side of the head joint and on the lower portion of the foot.
DescriptionBoxwood.
By 1736, London city records indicate that Hallett had established his own shop and, not long after, taken on two apprentices. In 1753, however, he was recorded as "poor" by the rate (property tax) collectors, suggesting that business had slowed. After this date, little else is known of Benjamin Hallett.
DimensionsOverall length: 360 mm
Sounding length: 312 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1989 as part of a collection from Dale Higbee, Salisbury, North Carolina. Previously owned by Fritz Spiegl, Liverpool, England.
Published ReferencesWendy Powers, “Checklist of Historic Recorders in American Private & Public Collections,; The American Recorder, Vol. xxx, No. 2 (May 1989) p 60.
The Recorder Collection of Frans Bruggen (1981), pp36-37 & drawing sheet #XVII.
Olga Racster, Chats on Violoncellos, pp 212-227 (should note Hallett’s appearance as ‘cellist 1748-53 & show a portrait).
Michael Seyfrit, Musical Instruments in Dayton C Miller Flute Collection at the Library of Congress, Vol. I (1982), p 178 & plate xxxi (incomplete ivory flute).
Wendy Powers, “Historic Recorders. An Update ” The American Recorder, Vol. XXXII, No.1, p.17.
Credit LineHigbee-Abbott-Zylstra Collection, 1989
Object number04825
On View
Not on view
