DCM 1245: Anonymous Fife in A-flat

Instrument type: Fife in A-flat
Medium: Unidentified wood, possibly ebony. Aluminum vessel top or mechanical part serving as end cap. Nickel silver end ferrule at bottom.; 38.4 cm.
Key Holes System: 2/6 holes.
Mark Maximum: No mark.
Condition: Most of the instrument is covered with a thick coating(s) of varnish or shellac over areas wound with string, possibly as crack repair attempts. Most of the instrument has been seriously altered. The portion above the embouchure hole has been cut off at least 2 centimeters or more. The embouchure hole has been enlarged to 11.4 x 10.2 millimeters. The 6 principal rank toneholes have also been enlarged, four of them utilizing rectangular wooden inlays, perhaps to accomplish that end. Two thumbholes have been added, the upper of which shows possibly evidence of having been operated by a (now missing) key.
Provenance: Thomas M. Fagan, Portland, Maine, 10 Jan. 1935. DCM ledger: "Said by Mr. Fagan to have been used in the Revolutionary War; highly prized by him."

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.