Come on, own up! Which of you merry pranksters informed the seller of the buttonless German-made Lachenal that it was made by the famous old firm of "Seirffej"? (See here.)

Remember, it's not fair to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man. On the other hand, maybe anyone who describes a concertina with every button missing as being "in generally good condition" has got it coming.

Drat, no wonder it's gone over the 6p I bid on it!

(Well I couldn't bear to see it sitting there with a bid of only 1p on it... )


Or describing it as a Lachenal for that matter, when it actually states on it that it was 'Made In Germany'? Somebody should tell 'em that Lachenal's trade mark said 'English Make'...

I think he's fair game; presumably he wouldn't have used all that over-the-top enthusiasm if he didn't think it might con someone? Or does he talk like that all the time?

Wish I'd thought of it.

That is the best Ebay response I've ever seen. Bravo to the author.

Was Selrahc Seirffej the inventor of the world-famous and patented buttonless concertina?

It's at 22pounds now. I dunno how many quid.

I did write the seller and say that this wasn't a Lachenal because Lachenal didn't make concertinas outside of England. I received no reply and my question wasn't posted on the listing. The one that did get posted is indeed amusing -- but I hope that it doesn't fool any naive buyers into thinking that this concertina is worth a bid.....

So do I. A keyless Aloea must be worth a mint.

Where is Misha when we need him?!?

I'm thinking there should DEFINITELY be some debate on this rare treasure's possible top end price!

Oh, that's a beautiful comment!

But somehow, I don't think the seller gets the joke...

Well I'm sure it will lead to the discovery of many more rare concertinas, including the Enotstaehw, the Lanehcal, and those rare birds by the famous Senoj.

But I'll keep my eye out for a Wordet or a Reppid.

A much more deserving case!

A Picture is worth a thousand words!

Well I was certainly fooled!! I guessed it was probably an early unsuccessful attempt at a concertina version of a player piano. No buttons required. Just move the bellows and out comes the music. It looks to old to be a digital, bluetooth instrument.

Or indeed the modern makers Wordet and Esrom ...

Chris

I really fancy a nice new Rekkaw 1-EW baritone meself or even a Renttus if one came along. I don't think either of them are up to keyless technology though.

This was the part I enjoyed the most.
Who among us cannot put his hand up and say " f! is key I struggle with ?"
Robin!

Don't forget the Yelgde concertina! Very Danish-sounding!

Robin,

Not the key, but a bit of antique-dealer-speak, meaning "as found", though the less charitable might translate it as "all faults"...

Though A/Fb is theoretically possible..... Gotta love those tunes in Fb minor.

If he's getting £22, if not more, for that heap of junk then the seller IS getting the last laugh.

Actually, with 29 minutes or so to go, it's now up to £39.99 !

Blimey - it went for £70!
Did anyone on this forum buy it? Why?

Not me anyway, I never went over my original 6p bid (that's 1p for each side!)

The "lucky buyer" seems to only buy DVDs otherwise, and is a Simpson's fan. (Of course, there was a concertina maker called Simpson... )


Dunno!

I hope they didn't buy it because they didn't get the joke and thought that the jokester was serious that it's a valuable instrument...

It appears that a number of 'old sayings' that immediately spring to mind are true: I'll kick things off with "there's one born every minute"...over to you...

"...and two born to look after 'em"

A fool and his money are soon parted.
Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.
Show a lemming a cliff and he'll jump off it.

(Actually I made up the last one).

Chris

Never Give a Sucker an Even Break.


'Fraid not, Walt Disney made up that myth...

Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Well aware of it, mate. To my mind that double qualifies my saying for prime time. After all, no man is an island or indeed any other geographical feature. Two wrongs don't make a rite and you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him jump.

Chris

How about "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"
and "One mans trash is another mans treasure".

I was under the impression, the lemmings supposed myth came from the northern part of Europe, and was part of the Pied Piper of Hamelin fairy tale, and was part of rodent population explosion, and migration.

Thanks
Leo

1st lemming: Let's jump off the treadmill of life!

2nd lemming: It's not "Walt Disney"...

Actually, the myth, if myth it is, is a lot older than the film. This is from a book I was reading earlier today:-



The book is Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon. It was written in 1930.

Chris

Ye gods, what have I done?!

This reminds me of the old saying: A lemming and his cliff are soon parted. And a joke about Walt Disney. What's the difference between Bob Hope and Walt Disney? Bing sings, Walt disney!

Chris

What about: "You can lead a horse to the water, but you can't make him drink. Lead a man to the water, hold a pistol to his head, and he'll drink the trough dry." I just wonder what method of coercion (or persuasion) caused someone to buy a buttonless concertina for 70 quid ...

Cheers,
John

Maybe the previous one he bought was so shot that only the buttons were worth saving....

MC
(currently building a Hohner Pokerwork melodeon from bits of 4 damaged ones)

Malcolm,
Your reply just shows the validity of one of my favourite philosophical axioms: "Whatever IS, is logical." Sometimes you have to really search for the logic behind something, but in this case, you might just have found it

Cheers,
John

Now there's tragic!