Please help identify this one

[Ray Gargan]

Hello, this is my first post and unfortunately it looks like it will be a long one.

 

My only concertina is what looks like what might be an early Lachenal. I bought it in the late 70s for about $50. I was playing fiddle in a Celtic band at the time and thought it would be a good addition. I had some work done on the bellows and replaced a couple missing and worn out pads myself (with clarinet pads). I did learn a few tunes on it, but it isn't tuned to A 440 and the action was always very crotchety, so it never had much use.

 

There are no maker labels of any sort outside or inside the instrument. On one end on the outside is stamped "3905." The reeds are brass. One end-bolt is not original. The ends are solid rosewood and have many cracks. There is some warping, but it screws together tightly. In addition to the couple things I did, some professional looking repairs had been made inside before I bought it. In addition, some unprofessional repairs had been made as well. Someone has glued what looks like 1950s speaker grille cloth under the fretwork. The original thumb straps have been replaced with a jury rig of cloth. Some ugly brass hardware has been added to the original box.

 

Recently my interest in playing it has rekindled and I took it out of the box for the first time in about 20 years. Unlike wine, it has not improved with age. So, while googling concertinas I discovered this excellent site. From various photos I found here, I began to think it was made by Lachenal. I also discovered here that a reputable concertina shop was located just an hour's drive from home. A few days ago I took it over to The Button Box for them to take a look at it and to talk about some repairs. Doug Creighton told me that he thought it probably - but not certainly - was Lachenal from the 1860s. It needs new pads and valves and a tuning. Some of the felt bushings have gone missing as well. His well considered opinion was that, although old it was not particularly valuable because it would never be a great instrument to play. The price to re-pad, re-valve and re-tune and new straps is about $600. In reality, to fully restore it would be much more.

 

Your opinion on who made this and when, would be appreciated. I'll attempt to attach a few photos.

 

My second question is: is it worth getting at least the minimal work done?

 

Thanks

[apprenticeOF]

Your concertina appears very similar to an 1870's Louis Lachenal that I am trying to rescue. The fretwork is a little nicer than mine.

 

I'm relatively new to concertinas and got into it because I enjoy playing some music (poorly - but who cares) and tinkering as well. My wife and I got into it because we stumbled across a professional quality instrument (a Wheatstone Aeola) at a thrift store. I wanted to fix it up, however some knowledgeable folks on this site suggested that it was too valuable for a beginner to work on - and I took their advice. We have since purchased a steel reeded Lachenal & Co. as well as the brass reeded Louis Lachenal.

 

The Aeola was professionally done up by Concertina Connection (great service!) and is so responsive (and loud) that for a newby like myself it is almost intimidating.

 

The Lachenal & Co. steel reed one is nice to play and responsive enough for a beginner like me. It has bushed keys which seems to help.

 

The Louis Lachenal brass reed one (which is getting close to finished) has the spruce baffles, but not bushed keys. We love the tone, which which is more akin to a "blues harp" harmonica. It does a great job on slower, folky type music, like "500 Miles" and "Motherless Child" but even as a beginner I can feel the difference on faster tempo songs.

 

The "worth it" question is pretty much subjective. I played one of the decent modern ones with accordian reeds, and I think the brass reed Lachenal is far more playable. Those modern ones can be had under $400 but are big and clunky by comparison. If you check on Ebay, a restored brass reed Lachenal (48k) of similar vintage was sold recently (by a respected vendor) for about $700. Unrestored, they seem sell in the 250 to 400 range on Ebay. An up model steel reed Lachenal that had been rebuilt was sold in Dec. for about $1100. You can do the math from there.

 

IF you have the time, lots of patience, and like (emphasis on like) to tinker, that alters the equation. I have had many hours of enjoyment (and some frustration) rescuing the brass reed Lachenal. Dave Elliot's book is great and the folks on this site have been really good about answering questions. I found that the basics like pads and valves are pretty straight forward if you spend a few $ on things like really good screwdrivers and remember "never force anything". Oh, and if you start down that path be prepared for surprises...and roughly triple the time you think it will take.

[SteveS]

...and roughly triple the time you think it will take.

Agreed, concertina repairs can be incredibly labour-intensive.

Edited February 13, 2011 by SteveS

[Ray Gargan]

Your concertina appears very similar to an 1870's Louis Lachenal that I am trying to rescue. The fretwork is a little nicer than mine.

 

Does yours have a number stamped on it? Mine is on the outside edge of the rosewood end on the right side. Its very faint and difficult to see unless looking for it.

[apprenticeOF]

Your concertina appears very similar to an 1870's Louis Lachenal that I am trying to rescue. The fretwork is a little nicer than mine.

 

Does yours have a number stamped on it? Mine is on the outside edge of the rosewood end on the right side. Its very faint and difficult to see unless looking for it.

 

In my case the number stamped on the spruce baffle, which is a part you don't have, and on the reed pans. What makes mine very similar to yours is the action, with the stamped hook part that has a tongue that goes into the pan, plus the other details of pads, buttons etc.

 

It can be very difficult to pin down exact details/dates as there was a lot contract work done by the same people for different manufacturers in this time frame. And a lot of what we might call false advertising - the label on mine clearly stated "Thomas Dawkins - MANUFACTURER", but when I was cleaning it that label fell off, and underneath was a Louis Lachenal label. From what I've read (and I'm no expert) this was common practice with several sellers, Metzler & Co. is another that I know did this. I'm not sure - but I'll bet they did it with other actual makers concertinas as well. If you haven't already, there is some interesting reading at concertina.com