820

Stamp: Engraved on headjoint: L. L / LOUIS LOT/ PARIS/ 5650/ BREVET�. Engraved on body: L. L / LOUIS LOT/ PARIS/ BREVET�.

Marks: None visible.

Manufacture Date: Made 1894 (Giannini). E. Barat, prop.

Hallmarks: Marked on keys and body with boars head and HV. This is the stamp registered by H. Villette around 1877, and in use to the proprietorship of Chambille, around 1907.

Comments: Players looking for an early Lot will not care for this instrument; players looking for a modern flute with the most remarkable tone imaginable will, and do, absolutely love this flute. The condition is perfect, the mechanism is supple and quick, and the tone is open enough to sound familiar, yet has the Lot compression and intensity that makes these flutes so desirable. This instrument is probably fully useable in any modern setting, and will be a pleasant surprise for the audience.

Material: Made of silver with 18 c. gold lipplate and escutcheon.

System: Lot's model 6, silver flute with B foot. Standard backclutch, hanging T. B trill. Right pinkie B. In other words, this flute is a modern French model but for the B trill, which was not compulsory until the depression, for some reason. The toneholes are graduated, with two sizes on the top rack and larger holes on the footjoint. The pad washers are original, the tone holes are solid, the mechanism is tight, and the flute is ready to go.

Condition: This instrument is one of the lovely Louis Lot company flutes whose mechanism is in perfect condition. The instrument surfaced in Southern France some years ago, and had long ago been fitted with the current 18 kt.. gold lipplate, which we doubt to be the original plate but surely is French, probably Louis Lot, from a decade or so later than the body. The match is extraordinary, in that it carries the instrument into the years of Chambille with the mechanism and body of Barat. By Los Angeles standards, this is one hot flute, even if she is either fully 114 or only 100 years old! This flute was made as a special order presentation instrument. The 18 kt. embossed gold escutcheon with the monogram "PC", or "PG", the red silk lined case, and the flute being the most expensive package available from the Lot shop, all show that this instrument was special.

Pitch: This instrument does not appear to have been cut or altered, although there is a space of 2 or 3 millimeters in the case. The flute plays at about A=442 all the way in, and perfectly at A=440 when pulled out just a tad. The scale appears to be the standard Lot A=435 scale on the body, suggesting that the instrument was made to be played around A=440, yet with slightly lower pitches available.

Sounding Length: Sounding length 640 mm.

Measurements:

Weight:

Case: In apparently original, very high quality case in excellent condition. The rich red lining is marvelously soft, and is probably the silk velvet.