DCM 0040: Anonymous Walking Stick Flute in C

DCM ledger: "Boxwood Flute (once stained [varnished?], mostly removed)." Head joint has some unknown chemical which was spilled on it, the same color as the original stain or varnish. Unusual instrument in that walking stick woodwinds make some attempt to camouflage keywork. This instrument is obviously from a professional woodwind shop and displays the keywork as if it were a normal 5-keyed flute.
Instrument type: Walking Stick Flute in C
Medium: Boxwood, nickel silver keys, black horn ferrules, metal-lined toneholes, brass-lined blocks.; 63.8 cm.
Key Holes System: 5 keys, decorative shell-shaped, elevated tonehole seats made of brass tubes, pin in block (brass-lined).
Mark Maximum: No mark.
Condition: 3rd section (staff) missing.
Provenance: Carl (Max) Fischer, New York, 1 Nov. 1913.

The Dayton C. Miller collection in the Library of Congress, contains nearly 1,700 flutes and other wind instruments, statuary, iconography, books, music, trade catalogs, tutors, patents, and other materials mostly related to the flute. It includes both Western and non-Western examples of flutes from around the world, with at least 460 European and American instrument makers represented. Items in the collection date from the 16th to the 20th century.