Description: This flute is made from cocuswood. The head joint and barrel have a slightly redder color than the body and foot, but in the right light the body and foot also have the reddish brown hues of cocuswood. 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 Bb key has an additional touch allowing it to be operated by either the left or right hand. The keys have a very distinctive shape, typical of flutes by Pfaff. The silver rings are beautifully shaped with delicate knurling also common on other flutes by Pfaff. The end cap has internal threads that engage with a threaded cork holder (turned from cocuswood), and can be twisted to fine-tune the stopper position.
Makers marks: The head and barrel appear to be unmarked. The left hand section of the body is marked “J. PFAFF / PHILA”. Each line of the makers mark has a symbol of an eagle with folded wings above and below. The right hand body section is marked “J. PFAFF” with a symbol of an eagle with folder wings below. The foot markings are very faint and difficult to interpret.
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. This flute dates from sometime after 1843 and before his death in 1887.
Tuning: This flute plays very well at A=440 hz with lovely tone and intonation, with the tuning slide extended around 13mm at 70 degrees F. This flute would work well for playing Irish Traditional Music at modern pitch standards.
Specifications: C# – D# 256 mm. L2 tone hole 7.5 mm. R2 tone hole 8.2 mm.
Condition: The flute is in good playing condition using its original pads (which have been reconditioned), but I suspect its performance may improve further with new pads.