In building the collection, I was led by the idea to have a playable instrument of every important period in the development of the flute, whenever possible from the workshop of a renowned flute maker. In the short period of 15 years up to now, with a tight budget and a limited number of available instruments, this ambitious goal could only be achieved in parts. But as with most collectors, the „opportunity principle“ also applies to me: If an interesting and affordable object is offered, you grasp the opportunity to buy it, even if it does not meet your collection criteria seamlessly. After all, with this approach - and the necessary collector's luck - I came to a number of attractive rarities.

The focus of the collection is on original instruments of the late 18th, the 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the oldest dateable instruments - an early multi-keyed flute by Richard Potter, to be played left-handed - dates from 1777 (photos). In addition to numerous multi- keyed flutes from the romantic period, early examples of the Boehm system are well represented. Due to reasons of availability and costs, I own only few original instruments of the baroque period, but quite a number of good copies of well-known flute makers. Today (anno 2020), the collection includes some 280 objects, about 200 of which are classified as collectible and playable. The remaining objects are of lesser importance, usually unrestored and kept in a depot.