With no bids, the seller has changed the description of the eBay auction for Powell flute #106. It now reads:
Originally, the flute was an “Open G#” though at some point in its past, it has been converted to a modern closed G# like a modern flute. Pictures of the conversion are below.
I can’t say that I’m all that surprised that the bidder retracted their $3,500 bid. Having an unaltered three digit offset G open hole Powell from 1929 is one thing, a conversion — no matter how good — takes much of the lustre off such an acquisition. However, if all that was done to the flute was turn it from open G# to closed G#, than that’s a lot less of a Frankenflute than I was led to believe by the earlier info.