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These are the bellows of my george case concertina......hopefully this english concertina is about 1865...Does anyone know about the gold tooled pattern on the bellows?Its the same pattern as Jeffries?Did Jeffries copy George Case? or are these replacement Jeffries bellows from a slightly later period?

Don't steer unfounded expectations: George Case made various concertinas, including some that are quiet and slow, looking much better than sounding. I had one in my hands for a few months.

This one has steel reeds and plays very well but I would like peoples' thoughts on the shape of the gold tooling on the bellows please.
sorry about the title but I'd just had a bakewell tart with my tea ......hence alluding to Mr. Kipling.....

Quite obviously a suitable Case for gold tooling, don't you think?

Chris

Hi
Bit of history about George Case.
Bought Joseph Scates' business at 32, New Bond Street London in 1849 (George Jones in his 'Recollections of the English Concertina from 1844'- concertina.com) didn't seem to rate G Case as much of a businessman.
Advert in The Times Jan 1855 said that Boosey and Sons, 28 Holles Street, London had exclusive rights for selling George Case concertinas and that 'The personal attention of this eminent Professor will be given to the manufacture of these instruments, everyone of which will bear his name'
Wes Williams notes (concertina.com) that Case sold out to Boosey and Sons in 1856 so the deal was probably finalised between those dates. Therefore, if your concertina has an address label with an address of 32, New Bond Street it was probably made between 1849 (though, if he bought any stock with Scates business then early ones may be rebadged Joseph Scates conertinas) and 1855ish after that they were probably made by Boosey and Sons, Boosey and Ching or Boosey and Co Regent Street (wes Williams, concertina.com).
The bellows may have been fitted at anytime after this and had gold tooling at the choice of whoever paid for the bellows. i.e. they may not be original.
Case seems to have worked with his wife (Grace Egerton) as a concert performer after his concertina building period.
It's still a nice looking concertina though
hope this helps (and I'm sure that if I've got anything wrong someone will chip in)
chris

Well you got your Scates on with this one Chris.
If you are looking for new Gold Blocked Bellows then Dave Leese has the dies to do them

Make it snappy (the action) and you'll have the 3d solution for playing not so loud at home!!!

You will find that pattern of gold tooling on the bellows frames of various mid-nineteenth century makers, especially George Jones. It was in use long before Jeffries came on the scene, though new George Case concertinas were being marketed as late as the 1870s, and even into the 1880s.

Yes, and a certain well known other concertina maker/restorer is very cross about this.

Chris

Hi Chris,

So, why the reaction Chris? Who is upset, angry?

I ask because I did all the artwork for David Leese as part of one of our collaborative exercises. One which was used to master the blocking dies. I scanned original examples and used the scans within an illustrator package to create faithful re-production master images. I have all the interstage artwork on file if my word is indoubt.

Is it that someone else tried this and we beat them to it? I would like to compare notes. Or is some one upset because they think I copied their work? If so this is a serious allegation and I require the opportunity to address the issue with them. So please advise who you are talking about.

Dave Elliott

Hi Dave
As this is a sensitive issue, I have sent you a personal mesage.

Chris

So, to de-senitise the issue:

The whole thing is a storm in a tea cup, the well known repairer has been contacted and this is absolutely not an issue. However for the peace of mind of the rest of the community:

1. Dave Leese identified a market need, and the means to satisfy it

2. I did all the graphics based upon original source material- old bellows etc.

3. Nick - OLDNICKILBY (another c-netter, or are we c-nutters????) arranged for the blocks to be engraved to my graphical output

4. Dave Leese developed his blocking technique

The concertina community benefits from another available resource. Another c-nutter team triumph!

nothing un-toward, no one hurt or disadvantaged, and as was said:

"If you are looking for new Gold Blocked Bellows then Dave Leese has the dies to do them"

Cheers

Dave Elliott

Thanks for getting to the bottom of this Dave. I am pleased that it turned out not to be an issue after all. And good on all three of yer for the enterprise. The more gold blocked bellows the merrier. (and prettier!)

Chris