DCM 1182: George Catlin Flute in C

Instrument type: Flute in C
Medium: Rosewood(?), silver keys, ivory ferrules, metal-lined sockets.; 62.5 cm.
Key Holes System: 4 keys, saltspoon, pin in block.
Mark Maximum: (5-pointed star) / G. CATLIN / PHILADA / PATENT
Mark Additional: Mark on head. Mark on barrel, foot: G. CATLIN / PHILADA. / *. Mark on upper, lower: G. CATLIN / PHILADA.
Condition: Head joint, both sections, cracked, including 3 of the 4 present ferrules. Both sections have been repaired although the barrel section has another and recent crack near the earlier one. Cork-setting mechanism inner element (male thread) appears to be a replacement. Lower body joint ferrule cracked, and foot joint, both ferrules, cracked. All ferrules appear to be replacements, rather crudely done and not stylistically compatible. Furthermore, except for the 2 head joint ferrules defining the tuning slide gap, each of the others is applied over a brass ferrule which has been added by cutting away perilously enough wood to receive it. These (the metal) ferrules may be original. DCM ledger records cracked ferrules and one may therefore conclude that these are not necessarily his work.
Provenance: Dora E. Seeley, Ambler, Pennsylvania, 26 May 1933.

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.