Rivière & Hawkes 8-Key, D

A substantial Victorian-era eight-key wooden flute stamped "Rivière & Hawkes / 28 Leicester Square / London" on the left-hand section (the stamp is faint on that joint). The flute is currently incomplete and unplayable, and it requires significant restoration work before it can be brought back into service. It is offered here as a restoration project.

The right-hand section is missing its long F key, and one of the long F key blocks is damaged. The head joint has a crack and the barrel has two cracks. The foot joint end ring and socket ring are both cracked. The crown and cork assembly are missing entirely. Restoration would require, at minimum: fabricating a new long F key and its associated block, repairing the cracks in the head joint and barrel, likely pulling and resealing the head joint liner, and making a new crown and stopper assembly. Sound length is 590mm.

About the Maker

A pivotal partnership formed in 1876 between William Henry Hawkes and conductor Jules Rivière renamed the company Rivière & Hawkes. The firm operated at 28 Leicester Square from 1876 until 1889. William Henry Hawkes served as state trumpeter to Queen Victoria. Jules Prudence Rivière was born in Paris in 1819 and established himself as a conductor and composer before emigrating to England. The partnership made, imported, and distributed a range of instruments, and is today perhaps best remembered for the double basses it produced. The firm also produced wooden flutes and piccolos, fifes, wooden clarinets, and a full range of brass instruments. The "Rivière & Hawkes, 28 Leicester Square" stamp therefore dates this instrument to the period between 1876 and 1884. After the partnership dissolved, William Henry Hawkes's son Oliver joined the business, and Hawkes & Son continued at 28 Leicester Square before moving to Denman Street, Piccadilly Circus, where it remained until 1930. Boosey & Hawkes was founded in 1930 through the merger of Boosey & Company and Hawkes & Son.