Artley flute

[jmdewey60]

When it rains it pours, seems to be a good day for Artley / Armstrong flutes.
Here I am giving part of the promotional info given by the seller, edited to include
only what is pertinent to the model, as opposed to this particular individual example:
"Artley Semi pro Solid Sterling Silver French - model 108-0, ser# 37-25734 ( 1987 ).
Artley is a well respected US woodwind manufacturer and the 108-0 is the base of
their top of the line ( models 109,111 have gold appointments ). It is a French open
hole model that features Sterling Silver Headjoint, body, and foot ( each piece is
marked . )This is a stunning flute, the equal to a Geminhardt 3sb/KGG Special
or Yamaha 400 series."

Interestingly the seller did not include a close-up photo of the Artley logo on the
flute barrel but it looks to me (from another photo that I am not posting here) to
be like the newer stylised type as the one in the above posting. It also comes in
a case and case bag with no logo on it.

The keywork looks to me to be in the traditional Artley style.
This flute would be of interest to someone who collected Artley flutes in that
this was probably made in limited numbers and it seems to be a true Artley.

[jmdewey60]

Amazingly well preserved example of a pre-sixties Artley flute case.

This is the style of case you should expect to come with a really old Artley
but you probably should not expect it to be so nice.
This case came with a flute that the serial number dates to 1957.
Sold at auction for $61 which is pretty good for an old closed hole plated flute needing
pads, and I attribute it to persons wanting the case more than the instrument in it.

[jmdewey60]

On the post tree back I was describing a model 5-0
and could not quite make out the A logo stamped into
the headjoint about halfway down from the mouth-
piece. I found another flute with a serial number close
to that one which had a clearer shot of that A which
matches up with the A in the logo on the 5-0's case.

[jmdewey60]

Here's another variant of the 18-0 that I ran across today. This has USA below the Artley
logo on the barrel, instead of the "Nogales" on ones made earlier. The story generally
accepted about the Artley flute company is that it was bought, then moved back to
Elkhart. Maybe not to confuse the later made ones with the earlier made flutes that had
the Elkhart stamping, they just put USA on them.

I could not read the serial number from the photos but the seller provided a number, 613XXX,
making it previous to what seems to be the practice of the last Artleys made, to have a seven
digit number. Also it retains the nice older style lettering on the logo.
Update: found an earlier serial number for a similar flute, 582934.
This is currently up for auction on EBay.

[jmdewey60]

As a direct comparison to the one above, here is another model 18 variant,
which I would assume is slightly later, where it is using the newer stylised
lettering on the Artley logo, and the flying A on the headjoint. No serial number
readable in the supplied low-res photo and none given in description, but my
guess is this uses the later Armstrong convention with seven digits. This is
designated an 18T and listed as brand new, never used.

Key pad cups are in the Armstrong style.
note: currently active auction on EBay.

[jmdewey60]

Great!
Finally found a good close-up set of photos of one of the flutes this thread was started to talk about!!!!!
Since this is as on topic as it gets, I will post the full size photos without reducing them first.
To start, at least in this run of making Wilkins, they make it rather clear that this is in fact a Wilkins.




The seller gives no explanation other than to say he is selling it for a neighbor
who was the original owner and the sole player of this, which is open holed, and
solid silver. Looking at the case, I would date it to '70-'75. Seeing as it was made
in Elkhart, it would have to be closer to '70. Winning auction bid, $400 .
Update: The photo above shows the serial number but you can not tell if there
is a sixth number. The seller provided the number when it was requested, 890XX. If this
is correct, then it would be a lot older than what the case would indicate (late fifties).
The problem would be that the case does not match. The reason could be that the post
above showing that great old leather-bound case is the exception and not the rule.
Normally they would have deteriorated and been discarded. It may have been replaced
with a later style case.

[liebeyena]

If I were you ,of course I will repair it..
This silver flute is certainly of commemorative significance.

[Sabistian]

I´m new to Fluteland, I´m a professional flute player form Argentina and recently open a little reparing shop.
As a teacher I´ve seen a few Artleys, but when I begun to buy flutes at Ebay I bought a few Artleys, some in very bad shape, to restore and sell them .

I have a 5-0 solid silver head, french style open holes and C foot.
serial Nº430XXX, it´s a good flute from circa 1976, doesn´t have a great sound, I believe it has an old headjoint design.

In relation with the Armstrong flutes, it´s very easy to recognize one from the other.
Artleys headjoints have 5 little aligment lines, and the word "silver" is stamped above them, and the keys have a larger circle stamped on them.
Armstrong keys, in the old models, have a small circle more or less the size of the keyhole, wich I find very instructive for students, thinking in a future use of an open hole flute.

I recently sold an Artley from the '58s serial number 389xx, It gave a long battle but I finally was able to make it work, it was a very easy sounding instrument for a child or a beginner, It had its original case and cleaning rod!!!!!!!!

I bought a 4-0 french style open holes and b foot at Ebay a few days ago and I´m still waiting it to go trough the customs.

I believe that the Artley flutes are no that bad, they are good instruments for beginners and maybe for a second flute before you step up to a Yamaha or a more expensive and professional flute.

Thanks for your attention
Sebastian

[dave with the flute]

I have an artley flute I recently bought at an estate sale. I am trying to figure out the value, but having problems because the serial number does not match up with any I have seen online. Also I am trying to figure out if it is silver plated or not. The serial number is 1484XX. Any knowledge about this would be great. The box also matches the one above with the mixed-matched flute and box. Thanx.

Dave with the flute...

[pied_piper]

1484xx appears to have been made in 1965. See http://www.musictrader.com/artley.html

There are a few ways to determine if it is solid sterling silver or silver plated:

• 1 - Look for words stamped in the headloint and/or body. Some flutes will be stamped "Sterling Silver" or "925 silver" as indicators.
  2 - Look at the headjoint. If the tenon (the part that goes into the main flute body) is a different color (often very slightly yellow) than the rest of the headjoint, then it is plated.
  3 - Hold the headjoint by the crown end (the closed end) and let suspend below your hand as if you were holding a bell. Flick the tenon with a fingernail from your other hand. If it's sterling silver, if will make sort of a "thunk" sound. If it's silver plated, it will ring more like a bell with a "ting" sound.

[dave with the flute]

Thanks Pied Piper,

I have another question if you don't mind. I played the trumpet never the flute so I don't know that much about them. I saw this one and the price and said that it had to be a great buy. I am going to list it on eBay and have no idea what the value is. Maybe you could tell me what type of flute it is, and what you think it is worth. I have attached an image of it and believe it is silver plated b/c of the ping it made. Thanks again!
Dave

Actually it is not letting me attach the image it says its too big so I put an add on craigslist with the photos. http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/msg/2187748014.html

[pied_piper]

That is probably an Artley model 18-0, which is a student quality instrument. As far as pricing, that is always hard to say without a thorough inspection of the instrument. A wise man once said that an item is worth whatever someone is willing to pay. I've seen similar flutes sell for as little as $20 up to more than $100. Artley flutes are not in high demand, so buying prices under $100 are common for these flutes. Similar Artley flutes that were listed over $100, typically had no bids and went unsold.

Here are some similar instruments that have sold recently on eBay and may help you decide on a price:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-Artley-Flut ... 2c5a54ee84
http://cgi.ebay.com/ARTLEY-18-0-FLUTE-W ... 5d2d1cb722
http://cgi.ebay.com/ARTLEY-18-0-CLOSED- ... 35af6bdabd

[jmdewey60]

I am going to list it on eBay and have no idea what the value is.
Maybe you could tell me what type of flute it is, and what you think it is worth.

That is one of the flutes I consider to be a bit of an orphan model.
It was made when the company was in a flux, so to speak, where they were closing down the
Nogales factory and were being absorbed into the bigger company which also included Armstrong flutes.
They had a "USA" stamping and not what could be determined as a specific model and I feel like they
were just something that had "Artley" stamped on it to make the company look like it was alive, but as
far as I am concerned they are not in the least bit a "real" Artley and so, have no value whatsoever,
just my opinion and I do not represent myself as an expert, just a fan.

[sidekicker]

This has been a most interesting thread. Like Fluteguy, never did I know that Artley produced anything but student level flutes. In my student-level days they were considered horrible flutes; everyone who wanted an "upper scale" instrument in my age group (I'm talking junior high here) had a Gemeinhardt. But thanks to this thread, I now realize many years later that such an opinion about Artley was a tremendous, and wildly inaccurate, overstatement.

Thanks to all who have enlightened me considerably on Artleys.

SK

[cflutist]

In the 70s I knew that most Artley flutes were student models and were less desirable than Armstrong or Gemeinhardt. However I did know that Artley produced the "Wilkins" model which was supposed to compete with the Armstrong "Heritage" model. Both flutes were marketed as "professional" flutes but in my opinion were no where close to the handmade Powell and Wm. S. Haynes flutes of that era.