A nice picture of an Ocariflute

Several times, we have published posts about the Ocariflute (which used to be named "Oclariflute" at its beginnings), notably when we heard of its existence through advertisements, about its Silver Medal at Concours Lépine in 1923, when it was played on french TV or when we found the great (and too short) footage showing Jean Dubuffet and his Ocariflute in 1961...
So, we partly knew this french nose flute, but had never seen one in detail... until I found this beautiful picture coming from the Scenkonstmuseet (Swedish Museum of Performing Arts), based in Stockholm.



There is no doubt this instrument is an Ocariflute: the very typical shape of the heel is an evidence. What is interesting to notice, is that this nose flute was not stamped by a trademark or a name, contrarywise to any known and trademarked nose flutes we know. I have an hypothesis... as usual :)



On the advertisement above, the text "Instruments Brilhault - BT SGDG" (a not the name Ocariflute!) appears on an oval white background: it could be because the flute is not stamped but only got a sticker on the heel. And why not a stamping? Remember there was another instrument that was called Ocariflute at this time. "Ocariflute" was probably a better name than "Oclariflute", but was already in use. So Brilhault chose "Oclariflute" in 1922. But we know than after 1930, the nose flute finally got the name "Ocariflute" (Did Brilhault buy the trademark? Or was the name not renewed by he Ullmann company?). So, in the 20's, why would you have built a stamping machine with a trademark that you don't want to keep (Oclariflute) or are not yet allowed to use (Ocariflute). Better to glue a sticker, no?

--

The Scenkonstmuseetpossess also in its collection another metal nose flute, which appears to be a German no-name Nasenflöte, and look very similar to the German one I bought... in Danmark.



Mine:

The Ocariflute through its advertisements

Back to the Ocariflute, with advertisements, in order to precise dates.

The Ocariflute was invented in 1922 or 1923, and was presented to the Concours Lépine in September 1923, where his inventor, Achille Brilhault, won a silver medal.

The first ads I found were published in 1926, in two novelties catalogues, l'Echo de la Gaîté française et le Record du Rire. As you can see in the first one, the instruent is called Ocariflute (and not Oclariflute as it had been in the music instruments catalogues). But in the second ad, there apparently was a mistyping, and the flute is named "Orariflute". The nose flute is sold for 3 Francs in both books.



in 1927, the ad in the Echo de la Gaîté française is axactly the same, but the price has raised to 3 Francs 60 centimes.



In 1929, both ads have been re-composed. The text and price of the first one have not been changed (despite a typo problem in the name), but the advertisment was "downgrade" from page 7 to page 125. However, a line on the side of the page says « All the success novelties are launched by the "Ca é Française" » (with a typo problem in the word "Gaîté"). It means the Ocariflute is still regarded as a "success novelty".
The second one (in Record du Rire)has been totally renewed in a half page, with a huge title, a much longer description, and a price lowered to 3 Francs 50.



In 1930, the price is unchanged in the Echo de la Gaîté française, but the ad has again be re-organized, and downgraded again to page 395.



The 1932-33 ad in the Record du Rire got a new lay-out, and the price has increased to 4 Francs! (a bit less than the equivalent of 2 kilos of bread)



In 1936, there is no more ad for the Ocariflute in the Echo de la Gaîté française, but there's one left in the 1936-37 catalogue of the Record du Rire. The instrument is still sold 4 Francs, again with a renewed lay-out.
It seems it's the end of sales for the Ocariflute.



In conclusion, The Ocariflute was launched in 1923 and sold until 1937. During those honorable 14 years, the price increased by 25%, from 3 to 4 Francs (for the nickeled model). Was it a consequence of the 1929 crisis? Well, if one looks to the french rates, inflation increased from 1923 to 1930 (with a peak of 31,6% just for 1926!!) and then decreased (deflation) from 1931 to 1935, then took off again to tops! So the Ocariflute constantly increasing price was not directly correlated to it. But between 1930 and 1935, there was a huge activity decrease. So, it's very bizarre that an instrument that was not new, got a regurlarly increasing price until it disappeared.

Yet another TV archive!

Here is another french TV archive, dating of April 1982. It is an excerpt of a popular Sunday program (Incroyable Mais Vrai, a spin-off of the original That's Incredible).

In this footage, the presenter Jacques Martin welcomes a nose flute player, Mr. Bourdin.

Here are some excerpts of the (condescending and chauvinist) dialogue:

[The presenter welcomes Mr. Bourdin. Questions about his profession]

...

— Mr. Bourdin is an Incredible But True musician, because one day, his daddy built a device...

— Exact.

— ... which is named the Narinophone ["Nostrilophone"]. Please would you show this Incredible But True instrument: the only instrument played with the nose... The case is a matchbox, and this is daddy's invention. So, teach us how to play the Narinophone... it's an instrument which is attached with adhesive...

— Yes, so to get free of our hands.

— Narinophone, you see? Because we're like that, in France: we've got no oil, but we have Narinophones!... Is it an artistic instrument? It could also have been called the Morvophone (Snot-o-phone) too, but it was less melodious. I prefer Narinophone. Well, Mr. Bourdin, is the instrument set?

— [First whistling]

— Here is your mike, and you're going to play something for us with the Narinophopne, please.

— [Playing]

— Very well done!

[Applause]

—So... please... it's a remarkable instrument... Oh!

[instrument falling on the ground]

— My God! Let's put it back quickly in its case, don't we, because it's a very precious instrument. And you see, this is France. France of Incredible But True, this France which – where is the camera? Yes, this one – This France which is able to introduce, on a Sunday, an Incredible But True instrument, packed in a matchbox, Mr. Bourdin's Narinophone, who is applauded as he deserves it! Bravo Mr. Bourdin!

[Applause]

[Mr. Bourdin plays a subway ticket]

---

Here is the footage:



---

Now let's have a look at some screenshots:


The nose flute is a metal one — quite shiny – with a straight (square) heel, on which one can see a pair of holes. At the very beginning, it is possible to see the back of the flute, and it seems it featured a lip rest.

Because of its shape, his nose flute looks to be an Ocariflute [see this post], and this is rather problematic...
In the footage, the TV host Jacques Martin says « his daddy built a device » and then « This is daddy's invention ». As far as we know, the Ocariflute was invented by Achille Brilhault in 1922-23. And according to the Brilhault family tree, Achille had no children [see this post]. Even if he had one, the son would have been named Brilhault too, and not Bourdin.
(Well, remains the case of Mr. Bourdin having been an illegitimate child. In this 1982 video, Mr. Bourdin looks to be around 55-60. So, he would have been born around 1922-1927. So, there is a technical possibility).

Mr. Bourdin's nose flute shows two holes in the heel. Maybe were they made to slip a cord for hanging the flute around the neck. How has this Narinophone stayed so shiny during more than 50 years without having gotten rusty? Twenty years before, in 1961, Jean Dubuffet's one was already clearly oxydized... Well, safely preserved and wiped up or varnished... It could have been a genuine Ocariflute in perfect shape.

I have no answer for any of those questions, and won't certainly never have. Was this instrument a genuine Ocariflute or a copy made by a musician? Did Mr. Bourdin's father build this instrument or was it just a family belief? Was he the inventor of the Ocariflute and sold the patent to Brilhault? Only a copy of the list of 1923 Concours Lépine silver medallists could help... (For sure, I made a search for a patent registered by an inventor named Bourdin, but found nothing).

Jean Dubuffet, one of us!

Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) was a great painter and sculptor. He was the inventor of the "Art brut" ("raw art"). He approached the surrealist group, became member of the College of 'Pataphysique.

« Dubuffet sought to create an art as free from intellectual concerns as Art Brut, and his work often appears primitive and childlike. Nonetheless, Dubuffet appeared to be quite erudite when it came to writing about his own work. » (wiki)

« Spinning Round » (1961) [Tate Gallery, London]:


Jardin d'Email, Otterlo, Netherlands:


« In late 1960–1961, Dubuffet began experimenting with music and sound and made several recordings with the Danish painter Asger Jorn, a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA. »

Indeed, he recorded several albums of "Experiences musicales" or "Musique chauve" ("bald music"), using many different instruments (You can listen to his experimental music here)

A picture of 1961, by Jean Weber, and the cover of Dubuffet's musical work:


--

Jean Weber made also a great picture of Jean Dubuffet playing his nose flute!



At first glance, I thought it was a Humanatone. Jean Dubuffet had an agent in the USA, and travelled to America very soon. So, the flute could have been bought there.

In a book published by the Dubuffet's Foundation, one can see the Weber's photograph, with a caption: « Jean Dubuffet playing a nasal flute (or narinette), Paris, 1961. » :



Was there a nose flute called Narinette? No no no. This name is the result of a double mistake!!

Indeed, there was an instrument called Varinette, with a V. The Varinette was a "double kazoo" (2 vibrating membranes) invented in 1919 by the Abbe Jules-Ernest Varin.



How may I be so sure of the confusion Narinette/Varinette and why a double mistake?

Because I found a footage. In 1961, Terre des Arts, a french TV program dedicated to arts, broadcast a documentary about Jean Dubuffet. A part of it focuses on Dubuffet and music, and the artist presents the intruments used for his recordings with Asger Jorn. Dubuffet shows and plays his nose flute! But you will hear at the very beginning of the 10 seconds footage that he clearly pronounces Varinette and not Narinette.

So, Dubuffet made the first mistake, calling Varinette his nose flute (confusing with the double kazoo), and then, the book author made the second one, transcribing Narinette with a N. Indeed, « narine » means « nostril » in French, and Narinette could have made a funny name for a nose flute...



Short, but wonderful, isn't it?

So, what nose flute is played by Dubuffet? In the footage, one can clearly see the instrument straight heel, and it makes no doubt that Dubuffet's nose flute was the french Ocariflute! The instrument looks already "vintage" and a bit rusty: it is already 35 years old or so.




I propose Jean Dubuffet for Honorary Degree in the Nose Flute Hall of Fame (Performers section)

Achille Brilhault and the Ocariflûte

Back to the Ocariflute.

As exposed in this post, we learned that this french nose flute was probably launched and patented in 1922-23, and got a silver medal at the famous Concours Lépine in 1923.
It was sold by the "Instruments Brilhault", located 17, boulevard Rochechouart, Paris.

I wanted to know more about the instrument and its inventor. It would have been easy to get a copy of the list of the silver medallists of Concours Lépine 1923.
I wrote motivated letters, with copies of all the docs I have in my possession. No anwer. So, I called the Concours Lépine: they had "forgotten" my letter. I tried to relaunch the process, and a stupid and lazy lady finally told me her president Mr. Dorey didn't give the authorization to copy the list (is it a Top Secret classified file?). So I proposed to say a name ("Brilhault") and asked her to check if he was in the list, and what was its forename. She should have called me back... Let's make it short: Concours Lépine is a mess, and the people working there are lazy, non reliable and incompetent. Let's do without, before getting a nervous breakdown.

--

The Ets. Brilhault were located 17, boulevard Rochechouart. It was a very strategic place! At number 15 was the Gaîté-Rochechouart, which was a famous music-hall stage. Number 17 bis was a movie theater, and all the district was hosting a dozen of music hall stages with Jazz-bands.

The Brilhault shop, at the corner of the piazza:


Just beside the Brihault shop, the Gaîté-Rochechouart:


The Gaîté-Rochechoaurt Jazz-band (The "Syncopaters") in 1921-22, and a drawing called "Gaîté-Rochechouart - Dorville au Jazz-band" dated of 1921:


Those two pictures show there were different kind of Jazz-bands: "serious" ones, and much more funny ones. Indeed, all kind of shows were performed on the stages, from operetta to soldiers comical shows. The nose flutes were really at home at the Gaîté-Rochechouart!

--

I still have not been able to find the Ocariflute patent, but I found a very interesting one: a 1926 french patent for a musical saw filed by a certain... Achille Brilhault (patent FR 625,881, registered May 2, 1927).

I made some research about this instrument, and learned it was produced and was the first french musical saw. The blade was ornated with the signature "Brilhault" and a "lyra inside a sun". The lyra certainly was a symbol for Music (business), and I guess the sun was a kind of rebus: in French, "Brilhault" sounds like "brille haut", which means "shines high"...

--

Was this Achille Brilhault the one who was awarded by a silver medal for his Ocariflute? Despite the incompetency of Concours Lépine staff (who would have easily confirmed the forename "Achille"), I am able to answer.

I found that the musical saw produced by Achille Brilhault was named Flaix-Tone, and that the Flaix-Tone was sold... at 17 boulevard Rochechouart!

In Musique-Adresses Universel - Volume 11 (1929), one can read on page 2181:

Brilhault (Flaix-Tone), 17, bd Rochechouart. — Paris.

A detailed radio program announcing the song Salomé (oriental Fox-trot), with a Flaix-Tone accompaniment:


And if it was not enough, in the same music address book, on page 888:

Brilhault, 17 bd Rochechouart (9"). — (Métro, Barbés.) — Inst. à vent. — Inst., pour Jazz, Inst à lame vibrante, Instr. -Jouets. — Paris 66745

That is: Brilhault, 17 bld Rochechouart - Wind instruments - Jazz instruments, Vibrating blade instruments, Toy-instruments.

--

So, it is now definitely clear that the inventor of the Ocariflute was Achille Brilhault, who patented the first musical saw later, in 1926.

I found no biographic data about Achille, except for some genealogical ones. In the following sheet, it is noted that Achille was "restaurateur" ("restaurant owner") and was the "musical saw inventor". Achille had a brother, Jules-Henri, who was officer of the Tunisian Customs, then engineer in the railways. I found a picture of Jules-Henri, unfortunately none of Achille. Anyway, it is unlikely that Jules-Henri could have had some participation in the Brilhault instruments creation, since he died in 1922 and was apparently based in Tunisia.

The Ocariflûte / Oclariflûte - Again

I found another french jokes-gadgets-gizmos-novelties catalogue. It was published by the Société Le Record du Rire (The Laughter Record Company), Paris. This publication dates of 1929, that is just one year before the catalogue of the Société de la Gaîté française. It offers the same kind of funny and magical items, and also some small musical instruments.



I was very glad to find, page 137, another advertisement for the Ocariflûte, with another drawing. The brand name is not mentionned but the instrument is very recognizable, with its square heel. Here, the nose flute is called La Flûte nasale magique (The Magic Nasal Flute) and is supposedly "patented in every country"...

The text says:


(patented in every country)
THE MAGIC NASAL FLUTE
anyone can play it
with no musical knowledge

The Magic Nasal Flute is an instrument really new, totally different from the others. It is entirely made of metal and weighs only a few grams. Thus, one can always have it in the pocket. Once placed as specified in the user manual provided with each instrument, only a few minutes are necessary to learn to play it. Any tone is obtained. No fingering. No need to hold the instrument.
It is capable to produce delightful modulations and any popular or classical melodies (opera, ditties, etc.)
Any animal scream imitation, and particularly birds ones (nightingale and canary) are perfectly reproduced very conveniently.
As a result of a special agreement with the manufacturer of this marvelous instrument, we provide it complete with a detailed user manual at ultra-reduced price of 3.50 Francs.
Anyone can take benefit of this precious, useful, agreeable device as well at home as in society.

The Ocariflûte / Oclariflûte - Update

I found an original of the issue #1 of the Catalogue général de la Société de la Gaîté française and it changed a bit my thoughts about the Ocariflûte/Oclariflûte name...



This catalogue is a novelties french catalogue, proposing the same kind of joke items than the Johnson Smith did in the USA, but also some musical instruments, and notably the Bigotphone series (cardboard instruments). On the very last page, the printing date: 1930.

So, the name "Ocariflûte" was later than the original "Oclariflûte". I just amended and updated the post about this instrument, and added better images (scanned from the original catalogue).

The Ocariflûte / Oclariflûte

The Catalogue général de la Société de la Gaîté française, a french novelties catalogue #1, published in 1930, proposed a new little instrument called the Ocariflûte. « No need to know Music. No fingering, no need to hold the instrument, it is handsfree and one can play it along with violin, piano, accordion, etc. ». The advertisement shows, however, a man in tuxedo holding the Ocariflute in his hand.
For sure, it is a nose flute - a french one - and it is classified as a Jazz instrument.



Earlier, another (or the same...) instrument called Oclariflûte, with a "L" after the "C", had appeared in the catalogue of the Manufacture générale d'Instruments de Musique (unkn. date). It is classified as a Jazz instrument, but also as a toy ("Jazz-Jouets"). It is proposed through several versions: tin, nickel plated or luxus, for jazz.



On this lastad, we can clearly read on the flute: "Instruments Brilhault" and in-between the 2 words: "BT. SGDG", abbreviation of "Breveté Sans Garantie du Gouvernement" (patented with no government warranty). So, the baby was patented (but I found no trace of its file).

The instrument looks like a regular metal nose flute, with one specificity: the shape of its mouth shield which, contrarywise to almost any other flute, is not rounded at its bottom, but presents a kind of square heel.

There is no doubt that the Ocariflûte and the Oclariflûte were the same instruments.

On the first ad, one can guess the shape of the Oclariflûte heel...



But more: here is an newspaper article published Sep. 27, 1923, in the Figaro and about the famous Concours Lépine (inventions contest). The paper says: « L'Oclariflûte. This sensational novelty still gets a huge success at the Concours Lépine. It is very difficult to approach this booth, where the crowd makes a real rampart to listen to this little instrument. Everybody will become a musician with this novelty, unique in its type. Nickeled instrument, 6 francs, nickeled copper, 8 francs, and grand luxus item, 12 francs, in a case with user manual...»



And if you look back at the first advertisement, you'll notice the title is underwritten by « Médaille d'argent au Concours Lépine » (Silver medal at the Lépine Contest). I think this is a definitive evidence that Ocariflûte and Oclariflûte were the same.

So, a nose flute got a silver medal at the Concours Lépine, in Paris, 1923!
For sure, I contacted the current Lépine contest organization to ask if they could find something in their archives (a name, an address, an occupation... for the inventor). Unfortunately, I haven't got an answer yet.

But we know the name of the company who sold (and probably manufactured) the Oclariflûte: Ets. Brilhault, 17, boulevard Rochechouart, Paris IX. (The Figaro made a spelling mistake in the name, writing "Brilhaut" instead of "Brilhault", missing the "L").

--

Now, why the two names, with or without a L?

I am quite sure this came from a trademark issue. The nose flute was named Oclariflûte in 1923 (at Lépine Contest). Maybe the inventor wanted to name his nose flute without the L"... but there was already a wind instrument called Ocariflûte! It was metal ocarina shaped like... a flute, and patented by another musical manufacture in Paris, the Ets. Mathieu.



But in the 1930 catalogue, the nose flute is called Ocariflûte. Were the rights over the name Ocariflûte over? Or did the Ets. Mathieu sell the brand to Ets. Brilhault?

It seems that the Mathieu's ocarina was sold from the early 1890's until the beginning of the 1900s. But I also found that the brand Ocariflûte had been registered in 1901 and 1916 by:



Ch. & J. Ullmann were instruments makers and big distributors: in 1907 their catalogue is composed of 13 volumes! ... and they are the successors of Lecomte & Mathieu Co. The same Mathieu who invented the Ocariflûte-ocarina. In the 1907 catalogue, 9th part (Toys intruments), one can see the Mathieu's ocarinas, but for sure, no nose flute (they have not appeared in France yet).



So, the brand was owned by the Odeon company in 1916, but I don't know if it was registered only for recordings or also for musical instruments. Anyway, it's more than likely that the name was still registered in 1922-23, when the nose flute by Brilhault was issued.