Fake flutes paid the bills for steam engine creator

The Greenock-born inventor produced cheap imitations of flutes made by a top Parisian craftsman, according to evidence uncovered by the curator of Watt’s re-created workshop at the Science Museum in London.

Watt’s work on scientific instruments at Glasgow University in the 1760s paved the way for the steam breakthrough that was to power the industrial revolution, but he had another sideline.

Michael Wright, the curator of mechanical engineering at the Science Museum, has found a home-made copy of a stamp used by the leading flute maker, Thomas Lot, in Watt’s archive.

Mr Wright said Watt may have been passing off his own crude versions of the most popular instrument of the day as the work of the Stradivarius of the flute world.

He said: "It’s not improbable that Watt thought there was an advantage in putting a famous name on his flutes. There were plenty of gullible young gents about so there might have been a good market for fakes. There may be other explanations, but it does look as if Watt may have attempted to pass off his work in a way that we would regard as dishonest."

Watt, who was born in Greenock in 1736, served his apprenticeship in scientific instruments in London, but returned in 1757 to become mathematical instrument maker to Glasgow University. However, he felt undervalued by the institution and two years later, set up an instrument-making shop in the city’s Saltmarket, which later moved to the Trongate.

Watt’s path to fame came after he was asked by the university to repair an early Newcomen steam engine used in mines, which gave him the idea of a separate condenser to recycle the steam.

He moved to Birmingham in 1774, where he developed his invention with Matthew Boulton. He died in 1819.

No flutes made by Watt survive, but a steel stamp used to mark wooden goods and bearing Lot’s name, has been found.

Significantly, while Watt’s own stamp was professionally made, the Lot stamp was amateurishly produced, as if its maker did not want other people to know about it.

In addition, the imitation stamp did not have the asterisk between the letters T LOT that characterised the authentic one.

Mr Wright said Watt was likely to have been forced to sell flutes because he was short of money and instrument faking was widespread at the time.

He said: "Watt originally set up a business making scientific instruments, but we know he was hard up because he wrote to his father saying he would have to diversify to survive.

"He saw a gap in the market and we know from his accounts he was trading in flutes in quite a big way, although we do not know if he was making them himself or buying them in.

"If he was faking other craftsmen’s work, it would appear to reflect the business ethics of the time, since there were many other people doing likewise."

Watt is believed to have made and repaired a range of instruments, including fiddles, guitars and bagpipes, and a full set of tools are among his surviving artefacts. However, a barrel organ at the People’s Palace museum in Glasgow is the only surviving instrument bearing his name.

Mr Wright’s research, which is reported in New Scientist, will be published in the Journal of the Galpin Society, a leading group studying the history of musical instruments.

Brian Scott, who retired last year as James Watt professor of mechanical engineering at Glasgow University, said he was surprised by the fakery claims.

But, he added, Watt’s involvement in musical instruments reflected both his inventive spirit and keen business sense. He said: "Watt made a lot of things to see how they were constructed and would have seen musical instruments as a challenge. But he was also a hard-nosed businessman who could spot an opportunity to make money."