William Hall & Son

Place of business: New York , New York .

Dates of business: 1848-1855. (at this address)*

Addresses of business:

1848-49-239 Broadway
1850-52-239 Broadway & 1 Park Pl
1853-1855-239 Broadway
1856-58-16 White
1859-70-543 Broadway
1871-74-751 Broadway
1874 firm purchased by Ditson.

* Per Robert Eliason, Hall was apprenticed to a maker in Albany , New York (probably John Meacham) and came to work for Edward Riley in New York about 1812.

This is a good example of a pre Civil War era instrument.

Other examples of William Hall fifes can be found in many private collections.

Features:

Length of Instrument -the fife is 14 7/8 inch.

Wood -the instrument is made of, what seems to be, Rosewood.

Key of instrument -C stamped below the name.

Finger Holes -seem to be all of the same size.

The spacing on the holes is as follows:

1-2=.688
2-3=.665
3-4=.764
4-5=.711
5-6=.684

This shows that the hole pattern is not even.

Swell -the swell on this instrument comes at the embouchure hole.

Ferrules - Ferrules are made of brass, scored with the following: Top ferrule has 2+1+2 scoring. Bottom ferrule is 2+1+2 scoring. Both seem to be made out of seamless tubing, or I just cannot see the seam. Also, both ferrules have the punch marks to keep them in place. Top ferrule is 1.269 inch in length; bottom is 1.505 inch, and both are tapered..