Gautrot 5-Key

This flute is being sold as-is and is in need of significant restoration before it will be playable. Known work required includes a new crown, crack repair on the headjoint and barrel (a crude metal band is currently in place on the barrel), sealing of cracks in the right-hand section and footjoint, repadding, recorking, cleaning, and polishing. It is offered at a price that reflects this condition and represents a reasonable starting point for a restorer or a player with the patience and resources to bring it back.

About the Maker

Pierre-Louis Gautrot was a French inventor and manufacturer of brass and woodwind instruments, active in Paris. He began making musical instruments at a young age, starting in his home in 1827. His firm was acclaimed as the most important musical instrument factory in Europe in 1846, with a workforce of 300 to 320 people and an annual production of 20,000 instruments. In 1857, he acquired the flute manufacturer Jean-Louis Tulou, bringing one of France's most respected flute-making traditions under the Gautrot umbrella. Gautrot filed about 40 patents during his career, including inventing the sarrusophone in 1856. After Gautrot's death, management of the company passed to his son-in-law Amédée Couesnon, who renamed it "Couesnon, Gautrot et Cie," then "Couesnon & Cie" in 1888.