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Is this a Clarinet or the skeletal remains of an instrument? It's a mystery to me?

Straight up, I'm not a musician but I have a question that I thought this forum might answer. I recently picked up an old instrument that I thought was a clarinet. It has a nice old case with crocodile trim. The only mark I could find is a crest stamped into the mouthpiece with "Henri Selmer, Paris, Made in France, HS". The reed has Rico V-3 with a music symbol. The end of one piece pulls out and there is black string wrapped inside. I could not find any identifying marks on the rest of the parts. I think I have a bunch of random parts that don't add up to anything. Your feedback is welcome. thx! 100_3836.jpg 100_3828.jpg 100_3827.jpg
 
What you have there is a collection of disparate parts. In the first photo, the three items in the top row are (in order) two clarinet ligatures (used to hold the reeds on the mouthpiece) and a clarinet mouthpiece.

The item in the second row is the head joint of a pre-Boehm flute. Note the hole in the "side" of the joint; this is where the musician blows across the joint to generate the tone. The string is an older method (still used in some bassoons) to seal the connection between the instrument pieces.

The bottom item is the main body joint of the flute. Note the lack of "rings" around holes, the clearest feature of a modern Boehm flute. Instead, the "simple system" instruments just have an assortment of keys and pads, with a number of the keys having long touchpieces that parallel the bore of the instrument.

As a flute, it would be of interest to collectors, but of little other utility. Odds are that it is tuned to the old "high pitch" (A = 440+) and thus would not be able to play in tune with modern instruments.

The clarinet mouthpiece may have some value. Look to see if there is a "*" or "**" after the "HS"; these are common Selmer mouthpiece lay designations. Take the reed out back and burn it.
 
Thank you so much for the amazing depth of information. You have been VERY generous with your time, experience, and knowledge. I would never been able to figure out what was in the vintage case without your help.

Oh, and by the way, I do see a single flower symbol after the HS... such as HS*. 100_3838.jpg
---- Nancy
 
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If you advertise the mouthpiece and ligatures separately, which I would recommend that you do, you should both list the full designation ("HS*"), photos of the beak top and the table (the bottom, where the reed rests), as well as the condition of the cork.

If the HS* is on the table towards the cork end, then you have a "more vintage" version of the mouthpiece, which might bring you a bit more.

The flute? Well, you might get someone to bite on that; list it separately regardless. Look on the wood of the flute for the letters "HP" or "LP". If it's a "LP" (Low Pitch), it will be more salable than one that is High Pitch.
 
Good advise. In that I don't know one end from the other, I'll list the parts as suggested somewhere like Ebay. Someone else will appreciate and understand the instruments much more than me. Thx again. You're awesome.
 
SOTSDO's absolutely right on the reed, BTW. The only reason you'd ever want to have an old reed lying around is if you had a very exotic horn and you have to make reeds yourself.

Regarding the flute you have, you might want to look a bit closer to see if there's something stamped on it somewhere. Common places are near the joints -- that's where the pieces attach together -- and sometimes on the metal bands on the joints, themselves. You might also want to pay close attention to the headjoint (the joint without the keys) to look. I'm not a flute guy, so I can't say for sure either way, but you might find that it's actually worth something.

I can say, though, that you're missing one of the flute's joints. It's not a one-handed instrument :).

Oh. While I agree that the clarinet mouthpiece should be sold separately, they aren't trending that high on eBay right now. You should take a look at eBay sold listings.
 
Follow-up with another question-
So, I went and listed the parts on Ebay as best as I could. Right away, someone sent me a msg telling me that the two pieces are parts of an "old Irish Flute with one broken key". Strangely, he did offer to buy them directly from me. Do you think there is any validity? I'm skeptical that he's just messing with me.
 
I do not have that many sales done through eBay. Maybe a half-dozen. However, I've had dozens of e-mails from eBay'ers wanting me to end my auctions early, If someone wants you to end an auction before it's over, it's likely a scam. My polite response to these people has always been, "I'm sorry, but I will not end the auction early. I ask that you bid on the item and wait until the auction ends. Hopefully, yours will be the winning bid. Thanks for asking!" And post this in your ad as a "Q and A."
 
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