DCM 0583: Thomas Prowse Flute in C

Double reverse pressure leaf springs. Lip plate, possibly original. Silver-lined blocks and pin.
Instrument type: Flute in C
Medium: Cocus, silver and/or silver-plate cap, keys, and lavishly machine-knurled ferrules. Silver lip plate. Animal horn (ebonite?) embouchure bushing.; 66.05 cm.
Key Holes System: 8 keys, saltspoon, Nicholson holes, with pewter plugs over square metal plates for C#, C. Originally cross-pinned at D# block.
Mark Maximum: C. Nicholson's, / Improved. / 3921 / T. Prowse, / Hanway Street, / London. (cursive)
Mark Additional: Mark on upper body. Mark on head: C. Nicholson's / Improved (cursive). Mark on lower, foot: T. Prowse, / London. (cursive)
Condition: Head joint, upper section, cracked. Part of upper C key block missing.
Case: Original case, with silver name plate: W. Mountcastle.
Provenance: J. Clayton Boyes, Bushey, England, 1 May 1926.

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.