Photo of DCM 0511: Metzler Flute in C - Public domain dedication

English flutes with interchangeable upper head joints marked 4, 5, 6, meaning of 6 different lengths available, but perhaps rarely ordered. See "Preface" regarding joint numbering (e.g., 3, 4, 5, 6) for possible explanation of joint numbering scheme.
Instrument type: Flute in C
Medium: Unidentified wood, ivory cap and ferrules, silver keys.; 65.9 cm., 66.8 cm., 67.8 cm.
Key Holes System: 8 keys, the original 6 of silver, mounted pin in block, flat square flaps, plus nickel silver long F and upper C keys, and nickel silver saddles or mounts added later.
Mark Maximum: METZLER / LONDON / 4
Mark Additional: Mark on all sections. Other heads marked 3 or 5.
Condition: Small cracks in caps.
Provenance: Curtis Mees, Charlotte, North Carolina, 8 Oct. 1925. DCM ledger quotes from Mees letter, 12 Oct. 1925: "Probably about 35 or 40 years ago my grandfather gave me this flute, telling me simply that it had been in his possession for a great meany years...for at least fifty years before giving it to me."

The Dayton C. Miller collection in the Library of Congress, contains nearly 1,700 flutes and other wind instruments, statuary, iconography, books, music, trade catalogs, tutors, patents, and other materials mostly related to the flute. It includes both Western and non-Western examples of flutes from around the world, with at least 460 European and American instrument makers represented. Items in the collection date from the 16th to the 20th century.