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Transverse flute

Side-blown flute made of cocus wood in five sections (head, barrel, upper and middle joints, and foot), with silver ferrules and keywork. It has eight keys in total, mounted in protruded knobs with pivots, of which six have saltspoon-cups and two (low C and C-sharp) have pewter-plug-cup keys (i.e. a nineteenth-century type of key in which the pad is a tapered plug of pewter or other soft metal riveted loosely to the key end, and the tonehole is lined with a similarly tapered metal bushing or sleeve that supposedly ensured an airtight seal), all with flat brass springs attached to keys. The low C and C-sharp keys have overlapping touches. The head is lined with metal and has a circular embouchure hole. Nominal pitch: C.

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  • Decorative elements:Ferrules and cap have grooved lines.
  • Inscriptions:Stamped on upper joint: BILTON / LONDON / [unicorn head] / 9, WESTMINSTER - / BRIDGE ROAD|Stamped on middle and foot joints: BILTON / LONDON / [unicorn head]
  • Hornbostel-Sachs category:421.121.12 Open side-blown flutes with fingerholes
  • Repository:Museum of Army Music
  • Measurements:Length: 679mm