• The Orkon Flute: A 20th-Century Recorder

    From badenia@mindspring.com@21:1/5 to Nicholas Bodley on Sat Apr 23 15:56:03 2016
    On Saturday, February 10, 1996 at 12:00:00 AM UTC-8, Nicholas Bodley wrote:
    Earlier in this century, before the 1929+ depression, a flute
    manufacturer advertised an instrument which they called the Orkon Flute.
    It was, I'm told, offered as an instrument for those who wanted to play flute, but didn't want to struggle with learning to create a decent embouchure. It has apparently sunk deeply into obscurity since.

    It's a bit surprising that this topic apparently has not been mentioned
    in r.m.e. at all (I did a search of the archives a number of weeks ago). Please forgive me if it has come up recently; in that case, this message would simply be another commentary and anecdote.

    Someday, I hope to do more research into this instrument, but would like
    to pass on to the r.m.e. community what I do know about it; perhaps some other newsgroup (wind instrument makers? I should check) also would be appropriate; but considering that many here are involved with recorders in some sense, I guess it's OK.

    The instrument is a recorder-like duct flute, with a beak. As I recall,
    the beak is enclosed by a metal cap of a silvery color, possibly a nickel alloy. The body is of a black wood, presumably ebony, and it has a number
    of keys (roughly six or so) made of metal. It's well-made, and looks like
    a wind instrument made with technology of the period.

    Its head joint fits the midsection recorder-style, probably with metal
    band reinforcements. Whether it has a separate foot joint, I don't recall.

    Although I saw it only once, my best recollection is that its size is somewhat between a soprano and an alto recorder (I realize that has consequences, suggesting that its key would not be close to either F or C.)
    B flat might be plausible.

    Plainly, the keys simplified the fingering. None had any particular complexity; nothing like the keywork on a 20th-century wind. The keys
    were more like those on wooden flutes, once they started to gain a few.
    I'm fairly sure the Orkon Flute had a thumb hole, possibly with a key
    with a hole in it.

    I'm sure a small number of readers would love scaled drawings, bore diameters and profile, windway shape and dimensions, etc., and I dearly
    wish I could attach a file containing everything! However, a wee bit
    of information is, I hope, better than none. (Does it seem remotely
    plausible that one could obtain a grant to find out more? One would need credentials...)

    One place to begin would be issues of Down Beat magazine, I expect,
    from the 1920s; look for ads. Perhaps other magazines would be equally
    good or better.

    As to how many were made, I'd guess possibly 10,000 tops, but that is a very loosely-supported guess. As to what became of the instrument, I think
    I heard it said that few people could afford them in the Depression.
    That's certainly plausible.

    The identity of the company that made it is not a secret, but I know
    quite well that that company definitely does >not< want to have any
    inquiries about the instrument! I have promised the company president that
    I would not publicize their identity.
    However, I'd be glad to answer queries by individual e-mail if that
    seems advisable; it would be rude or worse to be childish and keep a
    secret. The company in question is quite well known and respected for its metal transverse flutes; they don't want to make a 20th century recorder,
    nor do they want to be talked into doing so. I don't know, nor recall, anything more than what is in this message, in general.

    A few years ago, in one of those fortuitous circumstances (of the
    "chance favors the prepared" variety) I talked with someone who was reasonably sure that a stash of parts still exists in New Hampshire, and
    that instruments could be assembled from those parts. I think the same
    person knew of someone who had made these flutes at the factory.

    My recollection of the instrument's tone color was that it was plausible for a duct flute, and relatively pleasant, but having no outstandingly distinctive attribute; possibly I thought at the time of remarks about
    how redesign of earlier instruments removes a good bit of the "character" from their tone color.

    The circumstances when I saw it were an evening when I arrived quite
    late at an English country dance in NY City; I used to play recorder for them, and when I saw a wind player in the band, of course my senses perked
    up in milliseconds. When I saw the instrument she was playing, it was a
    major exercise in self-discipline to give my partner a proper amount of courteous attention! It must have been one of the last dances of the
    evening. The pianist was our beloved Phil Merrill, who is almost a legend
    in the Country Dance and Song Society. He lived well into his 80s, and
    played as long as he was able to get down the stairs. (Dances were, and
    still are, held in a basement gym.)

    The player was an elderly, cheerful-spirited English woman who was
    visiting in NYC; I have forgotten her real name, although I have seen it
    in print, probably in connection with a Pat Shaw collection. She was known
    as "Kattles", for reasons I don't know; she was the "K" of the Pat Shaw
    dance called "K and E". (An enjoyable dance, btw.) She had been playing the Orkon Flute for decades, and had some strong idiosyncracies of style that were not likely to change; they weren't unmusical, just quite atypical.

    Naturally, I had never heard of the instrument, even though at the time
    I was fairly busy learning more about the recorder. I asked what the instrument was, and was told it was an "Orkon Flute". Phil and Kattles
    were friends from long ago, as I remember, so both spoke of it. Phil
    thought he had one around his apartment, and wanted to give it to me, but
    had given away all he had. He apparently didn't mind giving them away,
    even though they were of significant value,

    If Life permits me to find out more about this instrument (I might find
    out more at the New England Folk Festival this April), I shall certainly share what I learn if possible.

    -----

    NB Nicholas Bodley Autodidact & Polymath |*| Keep smiling! It makes
    Waltham, Mass. Amateur musician |*| people wonder what nbodley@sunspot.tiac.net (OK to omit "sunspot.") |*| you have been up to.

    The Orkon trademark was published by the USPTO in March of 1952, with a claim of first use in July of 1949. This goes with the patent of 1943 also mentioned.

    - Kurt Walter

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From The Band Man@21:1/5 to bad...@mindspring.com on Thu Feb 11 11:52:34 2021
    On Saturday, April 23, 2016 at 6:56:04 PM UTC-4, bad...@mindspring.com wrote:
    On Saturday, February 10, 1996 at 12:00:00 AM UTC-8, Nicholas Bodley wrote:
    Earlier in this century, before the 1929+ depression, a flute
    manufacturer advertised an instrument which they called the Orkon Flute.
    It was, I'm told, offered as an instrument for those who wanted to play flute, but didn't want to struggle with learning to create a decent embouchure. It has apparently sunk deeply into obscurity since.

    It's a bit surprising that this topic apparently has not been mentioned
    in r.m.e. at all (I did a search of the archives a number of weeks ago). Please forgive me if it has come up recently; in that case, this message would simply be another commentary and anecdote.

    Someday, I hope to do more research into this instrument, but would like
    to pass on to the r.m.e. community what I do know about it; perhaps some other newsgroup (wind instrument makers? I should check) also would be appropriate; but considering that many here are involved with recorders in some sense, I guess it's OK.

    The instrument is a recorder-like duct flute, with a beak. As I recall,
    the beak is enclosed by a metal cap of a silvery color, possibly a nickel alloy. The body is of a black wood, presumably ebony, and it has a number of keys (roughly six or so) made of metal. It's well-made, and looks like
    a wind instrument made with technology of the period.

    Its head joint fits the midsection recorder-style, probably with metal
    band reinforcements. Whether it has a separate foot joint, I don't recall.

    Although I saw it only once, my best recollection is that its size is somewhat between a soprano and an alto recorder (I realize that has consequences, suggesting that its key would not be close to either F or C.) B flat might be plausible.

    Plainly, the keys simplified the fingering. None had any particular complexity; nothing like the keywork on a 20th-century wind. The keys
    were more like those on wooden flutes, once they started to gain a few.
    I'm fairly sure the Orkon Flute had a thumb hole, possibly with a key
    with a hole in it.

    I'm sure a small number of readers would love scaled drawings, bore diameters and profile, windway shape and dimensions, etc., and I dearly wish I could attach a file containing everything! However, a wee bit
    of information is, I hope, better than none. (Does it seem remotely plausible that one could obtain a grant to find out more? One would need credentials...)

    One place to begin would be issues of Down Beat magazine, I expect,
    from the 1920s; look for ads. Perhaps other magazines would be equally
    good or better.

    As to how many were made, I'd guess possibly 10,000 tops, but that is a very loosely-supported guess. As to what became of the instrument, I think I heard it said that few people could afford them in the Depression.
    That's certainly plausible.

    The identity of the company that made it is not a secret, but I know
    quite well that that company definitely does >not< want to have any inquiries about the instrument! I have promised the company president that I would not publicize their identity.
    However, I'd be glad to answer queries by individual e-mail if that
    seems advisable; it would be rude or worse to be childish and keep a secret. The company in question is quite well known and respected for its metal transverse flutes; they don't want to make a 20th century recorder, nor do they want to be talked into doing so. I don't know, nor recall, anything more than what is in this message, in general.

    A few years ago, in one of those fortuitous circumstances (of the
    "chance favors the prepared" variety) I talked with someone who was reasonably sure that a stash of parts still exists in New Hampshire, and that instruments could be assembled from those parts. I think the same person knew of someone who had made these flutes at the factory.

    My recollection of the instrument's tone color was that it was plausible for a duct flute, and relatively pleasant, but having no outstandingly distinctive attribute; possibly I thought at the time of remarks about
    how redesign of earlier instruments removes a good bit of the "character" from their tone color.

    The circumstances when I saw it were an evening when I arrived quite
    late at an English country dance in NY City; I used to play recorder for them, and when I saw a wind player in the band, of course my senses perked up in milliseconds. When I saw the instrument she was playing, it was a major exercise in self-discipline to give my partner a proper amount of courteous attention! It must have been one of the last dances of the evening. The pianist was our beloved Phil Merrill, who is almost a legend in the Country Dance and Song Society. He lived well into his 80s, and played as long as he was able to get down the stairs. (Dances were, and still are, held in a basement gym.)

    The player was an elderly, cheerful-spirited English woman who was
    visiting in NYC; I have forgotten her real name, although I have seen it
    in print, probably in connection with a Pat Shaw collection. She was known as "Kattles", for reasons I don't know; she was the "K" of the Pat Shaw dance called "K and E". (An enjoyable dance, btw.) She had been playing the Orkon Flute for decades, and had some strong idiosyncracies of style that were not likely to change; they weren't unmusical, just quite atypical.

    Naturally, I had never heard of the instrument, even though at the time
    I was fairly busy learning more about the recorder. I asked what the instrument was, and was told it was an "Orkon Flute". Phil and Kattles
    were friends from long ago, as I remember, so both spoke of it. Phil thought he had one around his apartment, and wanted to give it to me, but had given away all he had. He apparently didn't mind giving them away,
    even though they were of significant value,

    If Life permits me to find out more about this instrument (I might find
    out more at the New England Folk Festival this April), I shall certainly share what I learn if possible.

    -----

    NB Nicholas Bodley Autodidact & Polymath |*| Keep smiling! It makes Waltham, Mass. Amateur musician |*| people wonder what nbo...@sunspot.tiac.net (OK to omit "sunspot.") |*| you have been up to.
    The Orkon trademark was published by the USPTO in March of 1952, with a claim of first use in July of 1949. This goes with the patent of 1943 also mentioned.

    - Kurt Walter
    For those still interested. On Shop goodwill.com https://www.shopgoodwill.com/Item/115175150

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Robert Resnik@21:1/5 to The Band Man on Mon Feb 15 12:34:55 2021
    On Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 2:52:35 PM UTC-5, The Band Man wrote:
    On Saturday, April 23, 2016 at 6:56:04 PM UTC-4, bad...@mindspring.com wrote:
    On Saturday, February 10, 1996 at 12:00:00 AM UTC-8, Nicholas Bodley wrote:
    Earlier in this century, before the 1929+ depression, a flute manufacturer advertised an instrument which they called the Orkon Flute. It was, I'm told, offered as an instrument for those who wanted to play flute, but didn't want to struggle with learning to create a decent embouchure. It has apparently sunk deeply into obscurity since.

    It's a bit surprising that this topic apparently has not been mentioned in r.m.e. at all (I did a search of the archives a number of weeks ago). Please forgive me if it has come up recently; in that case, this message would simply be another commentary and anecdote.

    Someday, I hope to do more research into this instrument, but would like to pass on to the r.m.e. community what I do know about it; perhaps some other newsgroup (wind instrument makers? I should check) also would be appropriate; but considering that many here are involved with recorders in
    some sense, I guess it's OK.

    The instrument is a recorder-like duct flute, with a beak. As I recall, the beak is enclosed by a metal cap of a silvery color, possibly a nickel alloy. The body is of a black wood, presumably ebony, and it has a number of keys (roughly six or so) made of metal. It's well-made, and looks like a wind instrument made with technology of the period.

    Its head joint fits the midsection recorder-style, probably with metal band reinforcements. Whether it has a separate foot joint, I don't recall.

    Although I saw it only once, my best recollection is that its size is somewhat between a soprano and an alto recorder (I realize that has consequences, suggesting that its key would not be close to either F or C.)
    B flat might be plausible.

    Plainly, the keys simplified the fingering. None had any particular complexity; nothing like the keywork on a 20th-century wind. The keys were more like those on wooden flutes, once they started to gain a few. I'm fairly sure the Orkon Flute had a thumb hole, possibly with a key with a hole in it.

    I'm sure a small number of readers would love scaled drawings, bore diameters and profile, windway shape and dimensions, etc., and I dearly wish I could attach a file containing everything! However, a wee bit
    of information is, I hope, better than none. (Does it seem remotely plausible that one could obtain a grant to find out more? One would need credentials...)

    One place to begin would be issues of Down Beat magazine, I expect,
    from the 1920s; look for ads. Perhaps other magazines would be equally good or better.

    As to how many were made, I'd guess possibly 10,000 tops, but that is a very loosely-supported guess. As to what became of the instrument, I think
    I heard it said that few people could afford them in the Depression. That's certainly plausible.

    The identity of the company that made it is not a secret, but I know quite well that that company definitely does >not< want to have any inquiries about the instrument! I have promised the company president that
    I would not publicize their identity.
    However, I'd be glad to answer queries by individual e-mail if that
    seems advisable; it would be rude or worse to be childish and keep a secret. The company in question is quite well known and respected for its metal transverse flutes; they don't want to make a 20th century recorder, nor do they want to be talked into doing so. I don't know, nor recall, anything more than what is in this message, in general.

    A few years ago, in one of those fortuitous circumstances (of the
    "chance favors the prepared" variety) I talked with someone who was reasonably sure that a stash of parts still exists in New Hampshire, and that instruments could be assembled from those parts. I think the same person knew of someone who had made these flutes at the factory.

    My recollection of the instrument's tone color was that it was plausible for a duct flute, and relatively pleasant, but having no outstandingly distinctive attribute; possibly I thought at the time of remarks about how redesign of earlier instruments removes a good bit of the "character" from their tone color.

    The circumstances when I saw it were an evening when I arrived quite
    late at an English country dance in NY City; I used to play recorder for them, and when I saw a wind player in the band, of course my senses perked
    up in milliseconds. When I saw the instrument she was playing, it was a major exercise in self-discipline to give my partner a proper amount of courteous attention! It must have been one of the last dances of the evening. The pianist was our beloved Phil Merrill, who is almost a legend in the Country Dance and Song Society. He lived well into his 80s, and played as long as he was able to get down the stairs. (Dances were, and still are, held in a basement gym.)

    The player was an elderly, cheerful-spirited English woman who was visiting in NYC; I have forgotten her real name, although I have seen it in print, probably in connection with a Pat Shaw collection. She was known
    as "Kattles", for reasons I don't know; she was the "K" of the Pat Shaw dance called "K and E". (An enjoyable dance, btw.) She had been playing the
    Orkon Flute for decades, and had some strong idiosyncracies of style that were not likely to change; they weren't unmusical, just quite atypical.

    Naturally, I had never heard of the instrument, even though at the time
    I was fairly busy learning more about the recorder. I asked what the instrument was, and was told it was an "Orkon Flute". Phil and Kattles were friends from long ago, as I remember, so both spoke of it. Phil thought he had one around his apartment, and wanted to give it to me, but had given away all he had. He apparently didn't mind giving them away, even though they were of significant value,

    If Life permits me to find out more about this instrument (I might find out more at the New England Folk Festival this April), I shall certainly share what I learn if possible.

    -----

    NB Nicholas Bodley Autodidact & Polymath |*| Keep smiling! It makes Waltham, Mass. Amateur musician |*| people wonder what nbo...@sunspot.tiac.net (OK to omit "sunspot.") |*| you have been up to.
    The Orkon trademark was published by the USPTO in March of 1952, with a claim of first use in July of 1949. This goes with the patent of 1943 also mentioned.

    - Kurt Walter
    For those still interested. On Shop goodwill.com https://www.shopgoodwill.com/Item/115175150

    2/15/21 I am listing an Orkon on eBay this afternoon. It is in beautiful condition, and comes with a custom hard case built by E.V. Powell.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)