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Flute

1847-1850 (Made)
Artist/Maker
Rudall & Rose (Made)
Place of origin
London (Made)

George Rudall (1781-1871) in partnership with John Rose (fl. 1820–1870) patented the first English flute to use the Boehm system in 1847. Between about 1832 and 1847, Theobald Boehm (1794–1881) of Munich devised a system of interlinking keys, which became universally adopted by makers because it avoided the need for demanding finger-stretches and made wind instruments much easier to play.

Object details

Category
Musical Instruments
Object type
Flute
Materials and techniques
turned and bored cocus wood flute, nickel-silver keys
Cocus Wood
Nickel-Silver
Turning
Boring
Brief description
Flute, cocus wood with nickel-silver keys, Rudall & Rose, English, about 1847-1850.
Physical description
"Cocus wood, in three joints, with nickel-silver keywork. Conical Boehm system, still with the ring axels on the far side save for that for the right hand first-finger ring." Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 93. The head joint is a replacement.
Dimensions
  • Length: 66cm
Taken from Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 93
Marks and inscriptions
  • Rudall & Rose No 1 Tavistock Street Covent Garden London (Stamped on the middle joint)
  • Rudall Carte & Co. London (Stamped on the head joint, which is a later replacement. Rudall, Carte & Co trade under that name from 1878.)
Gallery label
(pre September 2000)
FLUTE by Rudall & Rose, London, about 1840. Stamped, Rudall & Rose No 1 Tavistock Street Covent Garden London and on the head joint, Rudall, Carte & Co. London. Three Cocus wood joints and silver-nickle keys.

Museum No.: 1179-1903
Non-Keyboard Catalogue No.: 22/7

George Rudall operated from the above address between 1837 and 1847. The instrument uses an early version of the "Boehm system", which made use of interlinking keys, covers and ring touch-pieces, developed by Theobald Boehm in Munich, between about 1832 and 1847.
Credit line
Given to the Museum by Christopher Welch
Object history
This flute was given to the Museumin 1903 by Christopher Welch (b.1832), a player, designer and historian of the flute
Summary
George Rudall (1781-1871) in partnership with John Rose (fl. 1820–1870) patented the first English flute to use the Boehm system in 1847. Between about 1832 and 1847, Theobald Boehm (1794–1881) of Munich devised a system of interlinking keys, which became universally adopted by makers because it avoided the need for demanding finger-stretches and made wind instruments much easier to play.
Bibliographic reference
Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p, 93
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
1179-1903

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Record createdMay 16, 2001
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O58882/flute-rudall--rose/
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