DCM 0922: W. J. Davis Flute in C

Instrument type: Flute in C
Medium: Cocus, including head joint cap and cork-setting mechanism. Silver keys, ferrules, and decorative disk at cap, metal-lined head.; 65.9 cm.
Key Holes System: 8 keys, saltspoon. Pewter plugs for low C#, C, with rectangular pad seat plates. Large (Nicholson) toneholes, including embouchure hole. Pin in block. Reverse springs: the shorter keys, including B-flat, G#, F, and E-flat each have 2 flat springs, the second being a reverse upward pressure spring screwed to the instrument in the key track.
Mark Maximum: (lyre) / W. J._DAVIS / NEW_YORK / (lyre) / 104
Mark Additional: Mark on upper body. Mark on barrel, lower, foot: (lyre) / W. J._DAVIS / NEW_YORK / (lyre)
Condition: Head joint, both sections, cracked. Head joint upper section crack has been filled and has an old repair attempt consisting of a crack filler and 4 silver or nickel silver cross pins, 3 of them blind and the 4th (highest) does show on both ends, possibly a mistake. The pin ends appear not to be filed off flush with the exterior, and the resulting gap has been filled with stick shellac. Foot joint, the end of the E-flat/C/C# key block contains what appears to be 2 pins applied as a pre-pinning crack prevention device.
Provenance: Alfred M. Uhler, Concord, Massachusetts, 10 Mar. 1930.

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.