This flute is unmarked except for the nickel silver keys, which are stamped "AL" (Alexander Liddle). It features Nicholson-style finger holes and a tuning slide in the head joint. Historically optimized for A452, it plays with excellent intonation across a broad pitch range, from A440 with the tuning slide extended approximately 18 mm all the way up to A452. At A452, the flute comes alive with a brightness and presence reminiscent of an Eb flute. Intonation is very good at A440 as well, making it genuinely versatile across modern and historically informed performance contexts.
The restoration carried out by Dave Copley of Copley & Boegli Flutes in Loveland, Ohio is thorough and addresses both structural integrity and playability. Work included crack repair, bore refinement, embouchure recutting, and the fabrication of a Delrin adapter sleeve at the top of the upper body section, which optimizes the bore taper at that junction and ensures stable response across the register. The flute also carries earlier work by flute maker Aaron O'Hagan, who repaired a crack in the lined head joint; the repair is discreet and barely visible. A fitted hard case is included.
About the Maker
Alexander Liddle flourished in London from 1847 to 1879, listed as a wind musical instrument maker who employed the marks "Liddle, London" and "AL." The Howarth of London firm traces its own origins to Liddle's workshop: in 1874, George Howarth began an apprenticeship there, connecting Liddle directly to a lineage of British woodwind making that continues to the present day. Liddle's flutes are relatively rare, and the body of this instrument, based on stylistic and historical markers, is believed to date from approximately 1859 to 1875.
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