Description: This flute is made from cocuswood with an ivory head and cap. The flute has post-mounted, sliver keys and silver rings. Its head is partially lined in brass. The inner and outer parts of the tuning slide are brass, but the outer section is covered with a very thin lining of cocuswood. The flute has 8 keys – C, Bb, G#, long and short F, Eb, and C# and C foot keys. The keys have a very distinctive shape, typical of flutes by Pfaff. The end cap has internal threads that engage with a threaded cork holder (turned from ivory), and can be twisted to fine-tune the stopper position. Any ivory finial protrudes through the end cap to give a visual indication of the stopper position.
Makers marks: The head and barrel appear to be unmarked. The left hand section of the body is marked “(eagle with folder wings) / J. PFAFF / No 8 SOUTH 6th / PHILA / (eagle with folded wings)”. The right hand body and foot sections are unmarked.
History: Johann (John) Pfaff was born in 1816, emigrated to America at the age of 25 and established in Baltimore before moving to Philadelphia the following year. Pfaff was a flute specialist, securing several patents and gaining special recognition for the excellence of flutes he submitted in exhibitions. He had a variety of addresses, and was at No 8 South 6th in Philadelphia from 1850 to 1855, so this flute dates from that period.
Tuning: This flute plays very well at A=440 hz with good tone and intonation, with the tuning slide extended around 13mm at 70 degrees F. The F# is flat by 30 cents or so, which is not unusual for instruments of this period, and would be easy to rectify. This flute would work well for playing Irish Traditional Music at modern pitch standards.
Specifications: C# – D# 257 mm. L2 tone hole 7.5 mm. R2 tone hole 7.8 mm.
Condition: The flute is in good playing condition. The ring at the bottom of the foot is a nickel replacement (not by me) and should ideally be replaced with a decorative silver band to match the other rings. The ivory head is cracked in several places and has been pinned at some point in the past (again, not by me). The visible cracks, which fortunately do not pass through the embouchure, still need to be filled. Both of these remaining repairs (foot ring and crack filling) are cosmetic and will not have any impact on the flute’s performance.