28 BULLETIN 136, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



flageolets in London in 1830-1850. In this instrument (94632, pi. 

 16&) the tubes are unequal in length, a form of double flageolet 

 which is exceedingly rare. The flageolet consists of a mouth tube 

 and cap of ivory, a head of boxwood, and two parallel tubes in- 

 serted in the head. One tube is in one piece 9% inches long, the 

 other is in two pieces and is 11% inches long. The shorter tube has 

 six finger holes and five keys, a sixth key being placed in the head 

 above the tube. The longer tube has four finger holes and five keys. 

 The double flageolet with tubes of the same length (237751) is a 

 modern instrument. 



TRANSVERSE FUTKS 



A transverse flute is shown on the frescoes of the Cathedral of St. 

 Sophia, at Kief, Russia, indicating the use of that instrument in the 

 eleventh century. It did not, however, come into general use until 

 1636, when the " flute d'allemand," or German flute, became popular. 

 This had a round mouth hole at the side and Avas held horizontally. 

 It was made of one piece of wood, with a cylindrical base and six 

 finger holes. About the middle of the seventeenth century the base 

 was changed to a conical shape, with its smallest diameter at the 

 foot. The instrument was then made in three parts, or joints, called 

 the head, body, and foot. Extra upper sections could be put in the 

 body, these being of different lengths and correspondingly changing 

 the pitch of the instrument. About 1677 a key was placed in the 

 lower part of the flute, and in 1726 Quantz applied the second key 

 and constructed the head with a sliding joint; he also attached a 

 screw to the cork by which it could be adjusted. The oval mouth 

 hole came into use about 1724. 



One of the oldest flutes in the collection is 95297, which was made 

 about 1793 by Grenser, of Dresden, who was the first to make a bass 

 clarinet. This flute has six extra second joints by which the key of 

 the instrument could be changed. The use of the interchangeable 

 second joint was common before the invention of the sliding joint or 

 tuning slide. It is a transverse flute with six finger holes and one 

 thumb hole. No. 219093 is stamped " Georg Waldehauser Straubing 

 1798." It has six finger holes and one brass key. 



To Theobald Boehm the art of flute playing owes "the present 

 system of fingering, the cylinder bore, the silver tube, and much of 

 the beautiful mechanism which have completely revolutionized the 

 instrument and have made the Boehm flute one of the most perfect 

 of musical instruments." 6 The new system of fingering was made 

 known by Boehm in 1832, and the best flutes of the present day are 

 constructed on the Boehm models. 



•Dr. Dayton C. Miller. In translator's introduction to The Flute and Flute Playing, 

 by Theobald Boehm. p. xxv. 



