Hello loera,
Thank you for your question.
It is possible your flute is very old. A history of this company can
be found at this page:
http://www.banjolin.supanet.com/greyhistory.htm
"John Grey & Sons Ltd. was a subsidiary company of Barnett Samuel &
Sons for the making and selling of banjos, guitars and drums. The
banjos were designed and manufactured by Francis Beddard, an
Englishman who went to work for S.S.Stewart in America and returned in
1901. It is not clear whether John Grey was an actual person or not
apart from the historical figure.
The company started life in London in 1832 as a business which
manufactured watches and steel pens and distributed musical
instruments wholesale. It was run by Henry Solomon whose father Jacob
had come to London from Exeter. Henry sold the musical instrument part
of the business to Barnett Samuel in 1861 and Barnett's son Nelson
joined the business in 1869. In 1872 his eldest son joined the company
and the firm became a huge musical concern selling every kind of
instrument including harmoniums and zithers. It became Barnett Samuel
& Sons Ltd. in 1901, and sometime in the early 1900's they started
making their own banjos after Francis Beddard joined them. By 1911 the
subsidiary company "John Grey and Sons" had formed and used the name
as a trademark on its instruments. Earlier instruments had Grey and
Sons Ltd as the trademark..."
You might wish to read the rest of this short history, however it
concludes with the later purchases of the company and the fact that
instruments have not been made with this name since the 1960's,
perhaps even earlier.
A discussion list on wooden flutes also lists this information:
http://archive.woodenflute.com/woodenflute.199912
"I've been dipping into Langwill's and I've got some info on
Dulcet/B&S flutes. They were made by/for a firm by the name of
"Barnett Samuel". I'll quote the entry
"Samuel, Barnett WWI (woodwind instruments) fl London 1832-p1920.
Harmonium builders, WWI dealers, importers of flutes, flageolets; 1832
established;1873 listed as 'Manufacturers and Importers Pianofortes,
Military and other Instruments. Successor to Henry Solomon and
Co';1876-97 as 'Flutes and Flageolets';their 1901 catalogue refers to
'our stocks being
the largest and best assorted in Europe'; according to their 1911
catalogue employed 'John Grey & Sons, Dulcetta' as trade name; listed
also as 'Samuel Barnett'. See also ISAAC & SAMUEL, B.S.
MARK:[a] (crown)/IMPROVED/PATENT/FLAGEOLET/FLUTE/LONDON/G/TRADE MARK/
(orchestral triangle with beater. 'B.S' enframed/DULCET
[b] 'B.Samuel, London'
ADDRESS:1866-76 'Samuel Barnett', 31 Houndsditch St; 1875-77 'Samuel
Barnett & Son', ditto; 1878 ditto, 26 and 32 Worship St; 1887-97
ditto, 32 and 34 Worship St; 1920-28 32 and 34 Worship St. (all these
in London)
EXHIBITION: Sydney 1880, Melbourne 1881 (fife, flageolet).
CATALOGUE: 193pp( 1901); Revised Price List, 177pp (1911)"
So, this flute probably was made before the 1920's. The company no
longer exists.
Search Strategy:
"John Grey" +Sons
"John Grey" +Sons +flute OR dulcetta
"Samuel Barnett" +Son +flute OR dulcetta
"Barnett Samuel" +son +flute OR dulcetta
I trust my research has answered your question. If a link above should
fail to work or anything require further explanation or research,
please do post a Request for Clarification prior to rating the answer
and closing the question and I will be pleased to assist further.
Regards,
-=clouseau=- |
