Vintage Rudall Carte Cocus Piccolo

Our Description

This piccolo plays at A440, and requires a service. The serial number on the body of this piccolo dates it to 1895-96.

General Condition

The silver-plated headjoint is not original and has been matched with the piccolo at a later date. The body tenon has been shortened at some point, presumably to match with the headjoint. The wood is sound with no evidence of cracks or splits; the silver-plated headjoint is showing signs of wear and has got patches on either side of the lip-plate where the plating has worn, there is also pitting to the plating around the ferrule of the headjoint. the silver keywork has cracked and been repaired in two places; on the arm of the A key and the arm of the Bb lever. There are areas of wear to the keywork, with patches of pitting and tarnish.

About Rudall, Carte & Co

The British company Rudall Carte was among the most famous and well-regarded names in the music industry of the 19th and 20th centuries. Founded as Rudall & Rose in 1822, Richard Carte (father of Richard D'Oyly Carte, of later Gilbert and Sullivan fame) joined the firm around 1850, and the company  of Rudall, Rose, Carte & Co then became Rudall, Carte and Company in 1874.

Up until its acquition by Boosey & Hawkes in 1955, Rudall Carte were producing high-quality flutes in a range of materials - primarily cocus wood, but also silver, ebonite and gold - at varying price points. In addition, many famous names in flute history honed their trade at Rudall Carte, including Albert Cooper, Ewen McDougall and Harry Seeley (the last two of whom, along with five other Carte workers, went on to set up Flutemakers Guild).

Rudall Carte cocus wood flutes in particular are rightly still held in high esteem today: beautifully engineered and well ahead of their time, a restored, well cared-for Rudall Carte can be a pleasure to play. Many players like to match a modern British headjoint (such as Robert Bigio or Peter Worrell) to get the most out of these instruments, although there are some notable players who find the warmth and charm of the original headjoint preferable.

Rudall Carte today are known primarily only in the flute world, yet they were hugely successful and highly influential: as well as selling other instruments, the firm published books and music, and were also concert promoters. We highly recommend Robert Bigio's excellent book Rudall, Rose & Carte: The Art of the Flute in Britain for a greater insight into this historic company's production and legacy.

Specifications

What's Included

• Supplied in vintage, leather bound flute and piccolo double case

Item Details