"butler" English Concertina

[seumasmac]

I have an English 48 key treble concertina, which looks identical to a Lachenal which I saw recently. Its serial number is 21185, and the label on the instrument itself and inside the lid of the case is "Butler, Manufacturer, Haymarket, London". Does anyone know anything about Butler and any connections with another manufacturer, such as Lachenal or Wheatstone? And how could I find out an approximate date?

[Ken_Coles]

With the caveat that the experts will undoubtedly add to or correct this...

 

If you have a five-digit serial number, the _only_ makers I can think of who got that high (and used serial numbers) were Lachenal, Wheatstone, Jones, and Crabb. It sure sounds like a rebadged Lachenal.

 

For background on the challenges of determining the ages of Lachenals (original records are not known to have survived, and scholarship to reconstruct them is a long and continuing job) it might be fastest to do a search here on the forum for at least a dozen old threads where this has been discussed. The experienced folks here may chime in also with an approximate age estimate for yours.

[Stephen Chambers]

Butler's was a large, and long-lived business, they even had a branch here in Dublin, and all of their concertinas that I have seen were inexpensive Lachenal models. The serial number of this concertina would seem to suggest a date around the time that the labels changed from Louis Lachenal to Lachenal & Co., which was probably about 1873.

[seumasmac]

Thanks, Stephen. that's very helpful

 

Seumas