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Piccolo in C, 5 keys. Gautrot aîné, Paris, 1849 85. (Rendall Collection).
Piccolo flute
Gautrot aîné
Paris
Europe
France
Western Europe

Instrument Information

Title

Piccolo, nominal pitch: C

Accession Number

0002

Collection

MIMEd; Rendall Collection

Date Information

Date Made

1849-1885

Period

19th century; 1840s; 1850s; 1860s; 1870s; 1880s

Gallery Information

Gallery

Wolfson Gallery

Case

Woodwind case 1

Maker Information

Maker Name

Gautrot aîné

Maker Biography

The Gautrot firm was established in Paris in 1845 by Pierre Louis Gautrot (d 1882) after he took over the Guichard factory. In 1846 the firm claimed to be the most important wind instrument manufacturer in Europe, with a workforce of over 200. The factory was the first in France to use steam power. By 1862 the factory had an annual production of over 47,200 instruments produced by a workforce of over 700. Gautrot was the chief organizer of Parisian instrument makers opposed to Adolphe Sax and his patent, but lost the legal battle in 1859. As a result, Gautrot payed 500,000 francs indemnity to Sax and was forced to stamp every instrument containing one of Sax’s patents with Sax’s mark. The firm had the registered trade names of Gautrot aîné, Gautrot choix, and Gautrot aîné-Durand et Cie.

Made In

City

Paris

Country

France

Description

Technical Description

Boxwood piccolo in 3 sections with 5 German silver keys (cylinder cup keyheads) and 5 ivory ferrules at the joints (1 cracked). The distance between the oval embouchure-hole and cap is unusually long (61mm) with a sounding length (embouchure to end) of 256mm giving an overall length of 317mm. An elegant instrument in fine condition overall.

The firm of Gautrot aîné was based in Paris and by 1846 claimed to be the most important factory of its kind in Europe, and the first to use steam power, producing mainly brass instruments (cornets, trombones and ophicleides). In 1875, the trade names of ‘Gautot-Marquet’ and ‘Gautrot aîné’ were registered to designate ‘1er choix’ and ‘2me choix’ instruments respectively. For many years, the firm was involved in disputes over patents with the Adolphe Sax (of saxophone fame).

The name ‘Préalle & Co. Pernambuco’ stamped on the boxwood below the maker’s name presumably relates to the French (?) company that sold the flute, although Pernambuco is a province in Brazil! Brazilian Pernambuco wood is dense and orange-red, and is the most frequently used wood for making bows for string instruments ¬- but never flutes.

Technical description: Boxwood; 3 sections (head, tuning-slide section, body); german silver keys and plate in cap; 5 ivory ferrules; tuning-slide; oval embouchure-hole; unusually long between embouchure-hole and cap.

L0: B♭.
L1: T.
L2: T.
L3: T.
L4: G♯.
R1: T; C.
R2: T.
R3: T; F.
R4: D♯.

Keymount type: rod/pillar.
Keyhead type: cylinder cup.

Performance characteristics: Range D⁴ - G⁶ (sounding D⁵ - G⁷). Does not speak easily.
Usable pitch: Sounding A⁴ c 445 Hz.

Classification

Instrument

Piccolo flute/Flutes/Wind/Musical Instrument ; Piccolo flute

Instrument Family

Wind

Hornbostel Sachs Classification

421.121.12 ; musical instrument