Wichita Band Instrument Company
Wichita, Kansas

Rare ebony flute from the Paris workshop of JOSEPH BAUMANN ( 1790 - 1830 ) , replacement silver key, otherwise all original.

The “New Langwill” has a short report on the maker, citing one flute plus other woodwinds.

Phillip Young's listing notes only two other flutes by this maker, both of them in boxwood.

I believe one other Baumann flute lives in Ohio.

This is the second of two flutes I own by the maker, the other a pristine ebony instrument with five keys.

Which means that flutes by this maker are somewhat rare.*

*** I'll post the other instrument later today or in the morning, together with full measurements of both flutes.  

*** Please note that the head section does have an ancient socket fissure, maybe 80 - 85 mm long.  It's our experience that most restorers address the crack by drilling holes to the exterior, screwing in several steel pins and then plug the holes so as to hide the "repairs".   Regretfully, we often see woodwinds with these repairs where the stress of the wood travels to the other side of the joint. And the instrument then cracks on the opposite side of the section.  

Not, in our opinion, a good repair.   

A better method, we believe, is to not drill, not cut the wood anywhere.  It's not always possible to do it, but a thin wrap of carbon filament can be fastened to the exterior of the flute and still leave everything original, all wood intact.     And so we have done on this rare flute. Given the age of the crack, it's not been possible to fill it and make it disappear.  But we "banded" it to the exterior and have filled where required.  The work's been done several months ago and we're happy to report total stability and no air leaks.  

**** PLEASE NOTE, PLEASE NOTE!!  The flute has been posted and is being sold WITHOUT case, without box.  But I have an early French box that does fit, available for a small extra price.  Ask for more details, please!

The flute is part of a small collection of French instruments that I've acquired  over the years, which means I may offer to sell a few more in the upcoming months.  

Flute questions? Write me! Always glad to hear from flute people!

Please keep in mind that all sales through EBay means they (not us) collect your local sales tax on the purchase.

*** In January of 2024 our small workshop in Wichita  celebrated seventy-one years in business.

Over the decades, we’ve repaired and restored more than two hundred vintage French flutes from Louis Lot, Bonneville, Claude Rive and Buffet-Crampon plus hundreds of professional-quality flutes from Haynes and Powell. Today we have ten employees including five of the finest repair technicians in the country. We’re happy to report, a sterling reputation for top-quality restoration and ethical transactions. We are not amateurs, nor are we a “back bedroom” operation. We would be pleased to furnish you with references attesting to the above.

*** BEFORE WE SEND ANYTHING TO YOU…

The instrument is carefully inspected by us to make certain it’s spotlessly clean. We disinfect the exterior of the instrument, spray the exterior of the case as well. We do not send anything to you without it’s being checked and then checked again.

 Wichita Band Instrument Company is a small musical instrument emporium located in the center of the USA.  The owners are Kansas natives Gary L. Ray and his two sons. 

Founded by a woodwind repair technician in 1953, we soon will commence our seventy-first year in business.

We're not a "back bedroom" operation but can report that we are the owners of a proper "brick and mortar" workshop.

We enjoy a sterling reputation for ethical business transactions and confirm to our friends and clients the simple fact that we expect to be in business forever.