Wow, another Melody Flute on eBay today, complete with homemade case!

Today I found this instrument on the Library of Congress American Memory website - memory.loc.gov. Look for the "Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection," Items no. DCM 1295 and 1551. [Sorry if somebody has already reported this; I haven't read all of this thread] There was also another version, essentially the same body, but without the mouthpiece, for the more accomplished musicians.

Also a correction to my post of yesterday - the plating is nickel, not chrome, and on second look that seems correct. No mention of the actual metal for the mouthpiece.

An oddity reported there is that while the key seemed to be marked C, it was actually B-flat - I'll have to get out my electronic tuner and see what it thinks the notes are. The advanced version was advertised as also available in B-flat which was actually A-flat.