Thomas Weygandt 4-Keyed Flute: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This flute was made by Thomas J. Weygandt in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 1840 to 1861. It is a 4-keyed flute made of boxwood with ivory ferrules and nickel silver keys. This flute is stamped:

Thomas Jefferson Weygand (1800-1874) first learned the trade of a turner as a young man in Easton, Pennsylvania. He was fond of music and became a member of the “Artillerist Band,” organized in 1818 as part of the “Easton Artillerists.” Weygandt later moved to Philadelphia and made flutes and flageolets where he was active as a musical instrument maker from 1837 to 1870.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1840-1861
• maker: Weygandt, Thomas Jefferson
• Object Name: flute
• Physical Description: boxwood (overall material)
• Physical Description: ivory (overall material)
• Physical Description: nickel silver (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 24 in x 1 1/8 in; 60.96 cm x 2.8575 cm
• place made: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
• ID Number: 1979.0165.01
• catalog number: 1979.0165.01
• accession number: 1979.0165
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.