15 replies to this topic

[Dan Worrall]

[attachment=1671:attachment][attachment=1670:attachment]The link attached below and the photograph on the right show a well-dressed black youth holding an early german concertina in the early 1860's; the frame clearly links it to the time of the US civil war (enlarge the photo and look for the banner saying "The Union Now and Forever"); the documentation on the internet sales site is thorough and well written. The photo was sold, but the image can linger here. (More on the other photo, of Debbie Reynolds, below).

There are very few images of early anglo players in the US, and even less documentation. There is the 1913 photo of the New Bedford Massachusetts concertina band (from the concertinaFAQ; http://www.concertin...ages/newbed.htm ) and an image I purchased off Ebay of a young Kentucky girl holding an anglo in front of a log cabin, ca 1922 (http://www.concertin...90&hl=palestine ). We know that thousands of german and anglo-german concertinas were imported to North America and sold by mail order catalogs in the late nineteenth century (by Sears Roebuck, for one), but know very little about how and where they were played. Clearly it was never a very common instrument, and players may have been (as today) isolated. Its heyday in the US, perhaps excepting today's revival, appears to have been around the time of the US civil war (?). There was a clear market for these instruments, and Randy Merris has documented many german and anglo-german concertina tutors published in the US from the 1860's on (see his article on concertina.com). Anecdotal evidence shows that many were also brought in by English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh immigrants in the late 1800s-early 1900s. British Mormons brought some on the treks to Utah (the John Jarvie home in NE Utah, now a park, records the story of this Scottish-born concertina-playing frontiersman, and there are several historical accounts of Welsh and English Mormon players); Irishmen such as William Mullaly brought anglos with them to the east coast; English immigrants in Massachusetts had a concertina band mostly staffed by anglo players.

In contrast, Chemnitzer concertinas in the US are relatively thoroughly documented, as it was at least regionally widespread and fairly common in the Midwest (there is a thorough and recent review of "German" (Chemnitzer) concertina history in the midwestern US by Thomas Leary (2002; see reference below). The Germans appear to have ditched the Uhlig two row german "proto-anglo" as a serious instrument fairly early on, preferring its bigger multi-row descendants, which seem to have been available in Germany by the 1850's. Significant Chemnitzer playing in the midwest appears to root with Otto Georgi and his contemporaries in the Chicago area in the 1880's and proabably not much earlier, acoording to Leary; their instruments of choice from the beginning were imported multi-row, multi voice Chemnitzers imported from Germany. There seems to have been no significant early two row precursor in the US central European community to the arrival of the Chemnitzer, from what I can see from Leary's work.

The strange thing is that, scant as its actual playing history seems to be, the anglois very firmly rooted in American popular imagination; Hollywood seemed to trot it out in past decades whenever a quaint or nautical or folky prop was required (ie, Bing Crosby 'playing' anglo-german concertina while crooning 'True Love' to Grace Kelly on a yacht, Pat Boone playing a concertina whilst on a Journey to the Center of the Earth; that sort of thing). Why would Debbie Reynolds want a publicity photo of herself holding an anglo, when there seems to be little substantial history of its use in the US? (That photo was shamelessly grabbed from Jim Besser's website). There may be an interesting story there.

I'm interested in hearing from anyone with photos and/or information on early playing of anglos, anglo-german, and german concertinas in North America pre-WWII. Anybody have any information? Maybe a photo in the attic of great-grandfather with a concertina? Seen any good historical references?

Cheers,
Dan

Source and documentation for photo:
http://www.musurgia....D=7545753122006

James Leary, 2002, The German concertina in the upper Midwest: in Bohlman and Holzapfel, eds., Land Without Nightingales: Music in the Making of German-America. University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Edited by Dan Worrall, 23 March 2006 - 11:24 PM.

[Jim Besser]

use in the US? (That photo was shamelessly grabbed from Jim Besser's website). There may be an interesting story there.

No shame; that's how I got it.

Looking at the number of old photos showing people holding concertinas or button accordions, I wonder if it wasn't a fashion to use them as props. In early photography, it seemed almost mandatory for the subject to be holding something.

It would be interesting to find out if squeezeboxes were common items in the prop boxes of turn-of-the-century and earlier photographers.

[Theodore Kloba]

Why would Debbie Reynolds want a publicity photo of herself holding an anglo, when there seems to be little substantial history of its use in the US?

I saw a concertina like that on ebay recently, except that it had 30 buttons and an instruction book published in Chicago. I thought the chamfered corners were an interesting German detail on an "Anglo."

I'm interested in hearing from anyone with photos and/or information on early playing of anglos, anglo-german, and german concertinas in North America pre-WWII. Anybody have any information? Maybe a photo in the attic of great-grandfather with a concertina? Seen any good historical references?

Ken Yagelski has been publishing some with German concertinas (alongside more recent photos) on the Concertina People section of his website, Concertinamusic.com.

It would be interesting to find out if squeezeboxes were common items in the prop boxes of turn-of-the-century and earlier photographers.

I remember some mention of this on rec.music.makers.squeezebox, but I can't remember if it was just conjecture or if there was some backup.
This page from Cowan's Auctions shows a daguerrotype with a button accordion and claims it was a "favorite daguerreian prop."

[Rand]

British Mormons brought some on the treks to Utah (the John Jarvie home in NE Utah, now a park, records the story of this Scottish-born concertina-playing frontiersman, and there are several historical accounts of Welsh and English Mormon players);

Wow, that's interesting. I've visited the Jarvie home in Browns Park but never realized he was a concertina player. I'm fairly certain, however, he was not Mormon. He arrived in the U.S. from Scotland in 1870 (aged 26 years) and by 1875 was running a saloon in Rock Springs, Wyoming. He moved with his new bride to Browns Park, Utah in 1880, where he ran a general store (selling liquor, among other things) and operated a ferry across the Green River. He knew Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid quite well, as Browns Park was a famous outlaw hideout. Incidentally, his saloon in Rock Springs was said to provide "vaudeville type entertainment." I wonder if he ever played his concertina there?

The above information, by the way, is from the book John Jarvie of Browns Park, by William L. Tennent.

Rand

[Dan Worrall]

British Mormons brought some on the treks to Utah (the John Jarvie home in NE Utah, now a park, records the story of this Scottish-born concertina-playing frontiersman, and there are several historical accounts of Welsh and English Mormon players);

Wow, that's interesting. I've visited the Jarvie home in Browns Park but never realized he was a concertina player. I'm fairly certain, however, he was not Mormon. He arrived in the U.S. from Scotland in 1870 (aged 26 years) and by 1875 was running a saloon in Rock Springs, Wyoming. He moved with his new bride to Browns Park, Utah in 1880, where he ran a general store (selling liquor, among other things) and operated a ferry across the Green River. He knew Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid quite well, as Browns Park was a famous outlaw hideout. Incidentally, his saloon in Rock Springs was said to provide "vaudeville type entertainment." I wonder if he ever played his concertina there?

The above information, by the way, is from the book John Jarvie of Browns Park, by William L. Tennent.

Rand

Rand,
Here's the scoop on Jarvie as an entertainer, from http://www1.utah.com...ie_property.htm ; Ive seen the concertina bit mentioned in other histories too. I imagine him playing for dances in remote areas in a fashion like old Dooley Chapman in Australia:

"John Jarvie, a Scotsman, settled in Browns Park in 1880. Upon his arrival he opened a general store-trading post and become the postmaster of Browns Park. A year later, he added ferry operator to his responsibilities. Jarvie, an astute businessman, also had mining and livestock interests in the area.

Jarvie was educated and liked by all residents of Browns Park. He was much in demand at social functions because of his musical talents on the organ and concertina.

Jarvie was also acquainted with some of the more colorful characters in Browns Park history, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid of the Wild Bunch, outlaws Matt Warner and Isom Dart, and Ann Bassett, Queen of the Rustlers.

On Tuesday, July 6, 1909, Jarvie was robbed, murdered and his store ransacked by two transient workers from Rock Springs, Wyoming. His body was placed in a boat and pushed out into the Green River. It was not discovered until eight days later, just above the Gates of Ladore in the eastern end of Browns Park. He is buried in the Ladore Cemetery. His murderers were never captured. "

Rand, if you're ever that way again, check out the exhibit; maybe they have his concertina there!

Cheers,
Dan

[Dan Worrall]

Ken Yagelski has been publishing some with German concertinas (alongside more recent photos) on the Concertina People section of his website, Concertinamusic.com.

Theodore,

I checked out the site, and came up with only Chemnitzer players (which are of course also 'German concertinas', but not the humble two rows I was looking for). Nonetheless, There were some great pictures there, two of which I attach. The one of Joe Thein in 1920 is a great one! And of course old Carl Uhlig, who got all of us angloers going.
[attachment=1673:attachment][attachment=1674:attachment]
The two row german and anglo german concertinas, as well as the three row anglo, had many tutors published in the US pushing their use, as I mentioned earlier. Here are a couple of pictures of them, from 1865 and 1883 (thanks to Randy Merris). With all that information (and there are many more of these tutors around) it seems strange we know so little about their players.
Cheers,
Dan
[attachment=1675:attachment][attachment=1676:attachment]

[JimLucas]

...Carl Uhlig, who got all of us angloers going.

Dan, when you get this history together, will you publish it as a book called "The Compleat Angloer"?

[Dan Worrall]

...Carl Uhlig, who got all of us angloers going.

Dan, when you get this history together, will you publish it as a book called "The Compleat Angloer"?

No can do. Roger Digby beat me to that title. http://www.concertina.com/digby/

From the looks of things, it would be a paper thin book, anyway!

[Rand]

Rand,
Here's the scoop on Jarvie as an entertainer, from http://www1.utah.com...ie_property.htm ; Ive seen the concertina bit mentioned in other histories too. I imagine him playing for dances in remote areas in a fashion like old Dooley Chapman in Australia:

"John Jarvie, a Scotsman, settled in Browns Park in 1880. Upon his arrival he opened a general store-trading post and become the postmaster of Browns Park. A year later, he added ferry operator to his responsibilities. Jarvie, an astute businessman, also had mining and livestock interests in the area.

Jarvie was educated and liked by all residents of Browns Park. He was much in demand at social functions because of his musical talents on the organ and concertina.

Jarvie was also acquainted with some of the more colorful characters in Browns Park history, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid of the Wild Bunch, outlaws Matt Warner and Isom Dart, and Ann Bassett, Queen of the Rustlers.

On Tuesday, July 6, 1909, Jarvie was robbed, murdered and his store ransacked by two transient workers from Rock Springs, Wyoming. His body was placed in a boat and pushed out into the Green River. It was not discovered until eight days later, just above the Gates of Ladore in the eastern end of Browns Park. He is buried in the Ladore Cemetery. His murderers were never captured. "

Rand, if you're ever that way again, check out the exhibit; maybe they have his concertina there!

Cheers,
Dan

Dan,

Thanks for pointing out this information. I have been to the exhibit; there is a small museum at the Jarvie homestead. But I don't remember a concertina nor any mention of his playing. I went through the exhibit pretty fast, though... was just in the area working. The Jarvie home is in a lovely setting, under cottonwoods right next to the Green River. Browns Park itself is one of the most remote places I've been in Utah (and I've been to some pretty remote areas). You can't really just pass through on your way to someplace else; it pretty much has to be your destination. Very interesting to think about Jarvie playing for local dances and social gatherings, or perhaps just sitting out under the cottonwoods in the evening with his concertina.

Rand

[Dan Worrall]

Dan,

Thanks for pointing out this information. I have been to the exhibit; there is a small museum at the Jarvie homestead. But I don't remember a concertina nor any mention of his playing. I went through the exhibit pretty fast, though... was just in the area working. The Jarvie home is in a lovely setting, under cottonwoods right next to the Green River. Browns Park itself is one of the most remote places I've been in Utah (and I've been to some pretty remote areas). You can't really just pass through on your way to someplace else; it pretty much has to be your destination. Very interesting to think about Jarvie playing for local dances and social gatherings, or perhaps just sitting out under the cottonwoods in the evening with his concertina.

Rand

Rand,
You are welcome. Here is a photo of Jarvie; quite a character.
[attachment=1677:attachment]
Also, yet another photo of Debbie for Jim Besser. She really likes that thing!
[attachment=1680:attachment]
And another nice Civil War-era photo of a US anglo-german player; I'm told the cravat may even suggest pre-1860...but that starts to crowd the emergence of hexagonal anglos (1850s). This concertina at least
seems not to be a prop, but the property of a real musician.
[attachment=1681:attachment]

[Jim Besser]

Also, yet another photo of Debbie for Jim Besser. She really likes that thing!
[attachment=1680:attachment]

Well, Dan, you've caused a bit of a curiosity itch here, so I did some Googling and and came up with a possible explanation for the Debbie Reynolds poses with concertinas. Her movie "How The West Was Won" featured a few tunes with concertina. Here's a citation from a description of the sound track album:

Night has fallen, and the mood among the pioneers is sullen ("Poor Wayfarin' Stranger"). But Lilith fires them up when she launches into a spirited " Raise A Ruckus Tonight," in a version adapted and arranged by Robert Emmett Dolan and Ken Darby, with new lyrics by Johnny Mercer. As Ken Darby wrote in his notes, the song is "an authentic reproduction of a pioneer 'round-dance' or hoe- down." It is performed by Debbie Reynolds, with support from The Whiskeyhill Quartet and The Ken Darby Singers and an accompaniment provided by a banjo, a guitar, a harmonica, a concertina, and an occasional swipe on an old-fashioned washboard. According to Darby, Mercer used the original ly rics from the song, skillfully adding some of his own.

I wonder if she was every filmed playing one (or pretending to play one).

You can hear a snip at this site:
http://www.daveswarb...RMH/samples.htm

I can only hear a couple of chords, and it sounds like an accordion to me.

Edited by Jim Besser, 26 March 2006 - 10:36 AM.

[David Barnert]

[attachment=1670:attachment][attachment=1681:attachment]
Some observations about these two images, reproduced from Dan's posts, above. Note that in the first one, the concertina appears not to be hexagonal, but rectangular. Also, the second one is a stereoscopic image (see how the fiddle bow crosses slightly different parts of the curtain behind in the two images). You can see this stereoscopically if you open the image in an application that gives you the option of viewing at different magnifications. The optimal magnification will vary depending upon the resolution of your monitor and the distance between your eyes, but I had no trouble seeing it in 3-D by viewing it at 50% size (it only needs to be approximately correct). Stare at the reduced image and let your eyes relax so they focus on "infinity." The left and right images will move twoard each other. See if you can get them to exactly overlie each other. If you are nearsighted, you may find it easier to focs them by taking off your glasses (that's what I did).

[Dan Worrall]

[attachment=1670:attachment][attachment=1681:attachment]
Some observations about these two images, reproduced from Dan's posts, above. Note that in the first one, the concertina appears not to be hexagonal, but rectangular. Also, the second one is a stereoscopic image (see how the fiddle bow crosses slightly different parts of the curtain behind in the two images). You can see this stereoscopically if you open the image in an application that gives you the option of viewing at different magnifications.

David,

Thanks for pointing out the stereoscopic bit; I had forgotten to!
Yes, that is an early square 'german' concertina, like that Stephen Chambers described in his article on www.concertina.com. I hade mentioned the 'german' but left out the square part, because it is well described in the article on the onlien antique photo website for which I had given the link. I was really amazed at the quality of the description of the photo on that sales site....I've seen good descriptions on 'Antiques Roadshow', but for a general antique (even musical antiques) dealer to describe this obscure instrument so well was pretty impressive:

"This ambrotype is exceedingly rare and intriguing on three counts: the sitter is a young African-American boy; he's playing a German concertina; and the ambrotype's Union case has a manufacturer's label in it.

First, let's look at the sitter. Needless to say, extant photographic portraits of African-Americans from this period are not easy to come by. Rarer still is one of a child with a musical instrument.

The lad appears to be between 10 and 13 years of age. He's neatly dressed, wearing a straight-cut jacket with silver buttons, which is only partially buttoned in accordance with men's fashion of the day. Our sitter sports a very fancy silk cravat edged in fringe. On the small table to his left sits our lad's high-crowned leather cap with a plain hat band and a tooled-border visor. It appears to be civilian type headwear rather than a military kepi or forage cap.

As for his instrument, the "Deutsche Konzertina" (German concertina), it was first manufactured in 1834 by Carl Friedrich Uhlig in the town of Chemnitz, Germany… hence it's other common name, the "Chemnitzer Konzertina." Unlike its contemporary, Sir Charles Wheatstone's fully chromatic English concertina (developed around 1830 but not patented until 1844), Uhlig's konzertina was a diatonic instrument that worked on a "push-pull" system similar to that of early accordions like the flutina and the latter button accordion. In this system, each melody button produces two different notes-- one note when the bellows are "pushed" in and a different one when the bellows are "pulled out." Whereas the English concertina had a distinctive hexagonal body and up to forty eight melody buttons, the early German concertina was square and typically had five to ten melody buttons on either side, with the bass notes on the left hand and the treble notes on the right.

The differences between the two instruments went far beyond issues of playing systems and structure. The English concertina was a fine, expensive instrument designed to play "serious" music. It was found primarily in the parlors and music rooms of the Upper Crust, as well as on the "legitimate" concert stage. By contrast the early German konzertina was an affordable instrument of "the people." Its low cost, compact size and easy playability made it a favorite of sailors, farm hands and "mechanics" (skilled laborers).

One more thing to consider about this image: the early German konzertina is rarely seen in period photographs. The types of concertinas most often depicted are the English or the Anglo-German varieties. The Anglo-German concertina was first produced by English maker George Jones, sometime in the 1850s. It's basically a souped-up German diatonic "push-pull" system housed in an English hexagonal body. Nowadays, the "Anglo" is the concertina of choice for Irish, English and Welsh traditional music.

Finally, we have the ambrotype's "Union Case." .........we can date it as having been made between 1857 and 1866, when the firm changed its name to the Florence Manufacturing Company.

We can further narrow down the time frame to probably sometime during the Civil War, as the case the bears the legend, "UNION FOREVER," above the image of an eagle clutching the Stars and Stripes. ...........Since the ambrotype does not have a revenue stamp, we'd be safe in assuming that it had to have been made before August 1864 when Congress authorized the use of revenue stamps as a tax on luxury goods to support the war effort. Revenue stamps were applied to photos between August 1, 1864 and August 1, 1866.

All this leads us to speculate that this young gentleman might have been an up-and-coming apprentice or even a ship's cabin boy, taking into consideration the German konzertina's association with seamen. Another possibility to ponder is that our sitter might have been a "band boy," a civilian orderly attached to a military band. Band boys were typically black youths, mostly "contrabands" (slaves who escaped to the Union lines before the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation) or newly-freed slaves. However, our research indicates that band boys during the Civil War were at least issued a plain military jacket or sack coat as a well as a kepi or a forage cap with no insignia. In any case, he must had some sort of steady employment that put a few extra coins in his pocket so that he could afford these few simple luxuries."

All this is on Musurgia's site at
http://www.musurgia....D=7545753122006

By the way, Stephen Chambers was contemplating a related topic in a thread on the History part of this Forum two years ago...'when if ever was the anglo/german 2 row ever popular in the US for folk music?' He had a good theory based purely on instrument history etc. that led him to believe that the period would be one decade on either side of the Civil War. Full marks, Stephen. Here are two photos to prove it. This black youth was a native born American playing the instrument, as opposed to a first generation immigrant. I think Stephen may be right, that the instrument declined precipitously as a 'general purpose' American popular/parlour/folk instrument in the 1870s....only to come back later (or partly synchronously) as an immigrant art form with Irish and English immigrants, in small pockets, never really widespread (not that it is widespread anywhere, even today!). When significant numbers of German concertinas appeared in the US in the 1880s in the hands of German immigrants, they were already the big multi-row boxes, as I mentioned above. And despite the photo of the girl in Kentucky also mentioned above, it is all but absent in southern and Appalachian music (where the accordion is a rare participant)....which is why it is exciting to see talented folks like Jody Kruskal trying it out for this genre.

All this is just working hypothesis; let's just keep looking for little shreds of documentation.....any bits of information gratefully accepted!

[Geoffrey Crabb]

I apologise for this being off the main topic but the stereo pictures were viewed with a stereoscope which links us to the first stereoscopes, called the Wheatstone's stereoscope, developed around 1833 by Sir Charles Wheatstone. These first stereoscopes predate photography and the stereopairs in those days were created as hand drawings.

Geoff

[David Barnert]

I apologise for this being off the main topic but the stereo pictures were viewed with a stereoscope...

That I knew.

...which links us to the first stereoscopes, called the Wheatstone's stereoscope, developed around 1833 by Sir Charles Wheatstone. These first stereoscopes predate photography and the stereopairs in those days were created as hand drawings.

That I didn't know. Thank you.

[Dan Worrall]

I apologise for this being off the main topic but the stereo pictures were viewed with a stereoscope which links us to the first stereoscopes, called the Wheatstone's stereoscope, developed around 1833 by Sir Charles Wheatstone. These first stereoscopes predate photography and the stereopairs in those days were created as hand drawings.

Geoff

Geoff,
Thanks for a fascinating bit of history trivia. Wheatstone strikes again! As a geologist, I've been using stereoscopes since undergraduate days, and had no idea that it came from the same hyperactive brain as the English concertina. I googled this topic with the following result (see http://www.rleggat.c...ry/stereosc.htm for more):

"STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHY
Stereoscopic, or 3D photography, works because it is able to recreate the illusion of depth. Human eyes are set about two-and-a-half inches apart, so each eye sees an image slightly differently. If one takes two separate photographs that same distance apart, with a suitable viewer it is possible to recreate that illusion of depth.
It comes as a surprise to many to learn that the idea of stereoscopy actually preceded photography. Binocular drawings were made by Giovanni Battista della Porta (1538-1615), whilst about the same period Jacopo Chimenti da Empoli (1554-1640) produced drawings side by side which clearly indicated his understanding of binocular vision. In 1613 the Jesuit Francois d'Aguillion (1567-1617), in his treatise, coined the word "stéréoscopique"

The first practical steps to demonstrate the theory by constructing equipment for the purpose did not take place until the 1800s. Though most associate Brewster with the invention, it was Sir Charles Wheatstone who, in June 1838, gave an address to the Royal Scottish Society of Arts on the phenomena of binocular vision. In describing the equipment, he said:
"I...propose that it be called a Stereoscope, to indicate its property of representing solid figures."
Wheatstone's actual stereoscope is preserved at the Science Museum in London. Eleven years were to elapse before Sir David Brewster described a binocular camera, and the first stereoscopic photographs began to be produced.

Early workers in this field include Fenton, who took photographs in Russia, when he visited there in 1852, and Jules Duboscq, who made stereoscopes and stereoscopic daguerreotypes. Duboscq in turn caused Antoine Claudet to become interested in stereoscopy; indeed, it was Claudet who patented stereoscopes in 1853.
The stereoscope took off in a big way when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert observed one at the exhibition at the Crystal Palace, and Brewster presented her with a stereoscope made by Duboscq. This signalled the beginning of a huge trade in stereoscopes and images; it is estimated that by the mid eighteen-fifties over a million homes owned one. One of the most successful salesmen of stereoscopic cards was George Nottage, later Lord Mayor of London, his catalogues listing over one hundred thousand views."

The story would have been in perfect symmetry had the gentleman in the photo been holding and English concertina....but let's keep looking; it shall one day turn up!