re: #73 austin_blue

I also had no idea. So I had to look it up. Apparently made out of leaded crystal glass. Do not appear to have valves.

A glass flute or crystal flute is a glass instrument briefly popular in the early 19th century. These flutes preserved pitch and tone during temperature change better than the wood and ivory flutes available at the time of their manufacture. Most were made by Claude Laurent, a French craftsman and clockmaker who patented the leaded crystal glass flute in 1806. They became obsolete after metal flutes were produced.

Claude Laurent’s glass flutes were manufactured in Paris in the early 19th century. Some are lead crystal and some are potash glass. Today 185 of Laurent’s instruments are known to survive. The US Library of Congress holds 17 of these.

The most famous example is a particularly elegant crystal flute made in 1813 that Laurent sent to James Madison to commemorate his second inauguration as US President. The flute was rescued from the White House in April 1814 by Dolley Madison as the British entered Washington, DC during the War of 1812. In 2022 Musical artist Lizzo was invited by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden to play the Madison crystal flute. While at the Library of Congress, Lizzo requested to play the flute in concert. She briefly played it onstage at Capital One Arena while twerking.

en.wikipedia.org