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Silver- painted key of D original clarke whistle

Regular price $75.00

Tax included.

 This whistle is made of tin-plate, and has a wooden fipple (mouthpiece), giving it a warm, flute-like tone. Also included is a song sheet with fingering chart.

   Clarke has been making their Penny Whistles, basically unchanged, since 1843. 

 In 1843, Robert Clarke a poor farm laborer left his employer after having been unjustly accused of dishonesty. He was a talented amateur musician and played a wooden whistle. He developed the idea of copying his whistle but used tinplate to do so. He made the block in the mouthpiece out of wood which he cut into shape using a homemade saw. This saw started life as one of his wife's corset stays! Then he decided to mass produce his new style of whistle. He loaded the necessary materials and his simple tools onto a handbarrow and, together with his son, walked all the way from Suffolk to Manchester. On the way he would set up his workshop barrow in market places, showing how the whistles were made and selling them. He would also play for the entertainment of the crowds that gathered round. His most popular piece was "Danny Boy". It is said that the whole busy market would stop and listen when he played this piece.