Thanks for your Concertina pages. I've enjoyed reading them, and they've bought back many memories.
I'm Wes Williams, and I've been messing with concertinas (and melodians etc) since 1969/70 (I think?) - anyway its most of my life (and I'm also a computer programmer/electronic engineer - but I trained for it to start with!).
If you've read any of Neil Wayne's 'old' concertina newsletters, you might have seen my name before.
I attempt to play Anglo and Duet (MacCann system), and my wife Vanessa plays English.
Most of my playing was English Morris style on the Anglo, and song accompaniment on the Duet. But around 10 years ago I went to 'Willie Week' at Miltown,Clare, Ireland and after a week in the 'beginners class' I now mainly play the Anglo Irish style. I've been there twice, first just to listen, and second time to learn. I'd recommend it just for the number of players you can see at the concert, which was a whole evening dedicated to Irish Anglo Players, MC'd by Noel Hill.
As a player with a few years experience ( but a total beginner in Irish styles ) I was able to pick up so much in that one week that I'm still learning from it now, thanks to the aid of a small tape recorder, and lots of wisdom from the tutor, Tony Creehan. Tony passed on a few years ago, followed by his 'famous father' Junior (Martin) , the fiddler, last year. I also met Mario Kliemann there (who has the German pages in your links).
I've repaired and tuned all my instruments during this time, except for my Lachenal C/G that Colin Dipper restored for me ~10 years ago. Never as good as the Dippers can do it, but enough to keep them playing. As your pages say, Colin and Rosalie are very nice people, and luckily for me only live 15 miles away - so spares are no problem.
-------------
[Paul:]
> It's funny that there seems to be no written record of Jeffries
> concertinas? No ads, no brochures, etc.? You'd think someone would
> have found some old newspaper ad or something...
I've always thought (and I don't remember where I got the idea from - but it may be from ex-Lachenal employee Tommy Williams) that Charlie Jeffries was a Metal Dealer (possibly even scrap metals?) who took up making concertinas as a sideline - which then became a good business for him. But you perhaps have to understand the connotations of the term 'Dealer' in Britain - they CAN be 'shady' characters, who avoid contact with officialdom, rules and regulations. Although there are Jeffries labels, it may be that the lack of adverts, brochures etc. sums up this kind of a trader - but it also could be it was just a very small business. And thinking back to conversations with a few Irish musicians, it strikes me that when they've talked of Jeffries instruments, they've spoken of relatives bringing them back from London, rather than buying them in Ireland itself. So perhaps with Jeffries we're looking at a very small personal business, rather than the 'factory' of Lachenal and Wheatstone. For comparison how many adverts have you seen for Crabbs - which would have been a similar size small business. I've not seen any except perhaps one with an article about them in a 'specialist' newsletter ~20 years ago.
My 'Little notebook' has the following notes:
Earliest 1868/70 20 or 26 key Anglos Signed 'Charlie Jeffries, his own make' in ink on inside. By 1890 Jeffries made all, earlier Crabb part mode.
Addresses: Pre 1900 WhiteLion Passage, Edgware Road. 1900-1910 Praed Street, Paddington. Aldershot Road, Kilburn - last Jeffries Anglos made.
In 1920's sons took over and stamp became Jeffries Bros.
1. Could you just add a little note so the reader knows the difference between an English and a duet - ie. Duets have bass notes one side and treble on the other, but English have approx. same range on each side. Its simple when you know, but is difficult to find out if you don't! [I didn't really know the duet details before -- thanks! --Paul]
2. Jeffries Duets: Quite a lot have been converted to Anglos like you have seen. Vanessa works as Adminstrator at Folk South West (a charity to promote the traditions of the South West of England) and the Director there, Eddie Upton, who plays english style anglo, has one of these. Eddie has a new CD out.
3 .Difference between Makers? - well compared to Lachenal, Jeffries Honk Brass, Wheatstone Clarinet Woodwind and Crabb=Wheatstone!
4. Hayden Duets: A recent invention (about 30 years old?) - a Duet fingering system that lets you play in any key using the same relative button positions. So once you've learned the pattern in one key, you use the same pattern, but just start from a different button, to change the key. Bloody clever really! Brian Hayden lives 5 miles away from me - (only 200 yards from where I work) and we both played for the same dance group back in the 1970s. He's a very quiet, unassuming person, and great when you get to know him.
Perhaps I've been living near the centre of the Concertina Universe for years without realising it ;-)
5. Lachenal Serial Numbers I've mailed David Aumann, but basically this only works for Anglos - English perhaps, and Duets definately, are on a different numbering system. Thus my Lachenal Duet with a fingering system patented in 1884, is Serial No 689, rather than something above 40000.
6. Wheatstone Serial Numbers Rough guide: 1900 - 24500; 1920 - 28000; 1930 - 32000; 1940 - 35200; 1960 - 36660.
7. Recordings - Just concentrating on Irish Anglo, have you come across:
Neil Wayne and John Tams recorded quite a few Irish players in 1974, when Noel Hill was still in short trousers. They were released on LP from Topic/Free Reed (London) as: 12TFRS502 - Clare Concertinas - Bernard O'Sullivan and Tommy MacMahon. 12TFRS503 - The Flowing Tide - Chris Droney 12TFRS504 - Fiddle and Concertina Player - John Kelly 12TFRS505 - Irish Traditional Music of County Clare - Bernard O'Sullivan and Tommy MacMahon. 12TFRS506 - Irish Traditional Concertina Styles - Various players.
Also recorded were the Russell Family from Doolin, Clare, (Packie Russell played anglo) which along with 12TFRS505 has been re-released in Ireland on cassette fairly recently as Ossian 08 and 50, so others may be available from Ossian,County Cork.
William Mullaly, Viva Voce 005 (cassette); 1926/27 recordings of Irish Anglo player in USA.
I'd also be interested if anybody has come across Paddy Rocker. I was lent a copy of a tape of him 5 years ago, but I've never found anything since. He plays Irish style anglo, but any kind of music - Jewish, Eastern Europe, etc - I was told he's American, of Irish descent. The Paddy Rocker Band;' First Generation'
8. Mary MacNamara: You've commented on the slow style - but I've come to thinking over the past years that there may be two basis for Irish Concertina styles in Clare, either the pipes or the fiddle. Most of the commercial recordings - Noel Hill,etc - have that 'pipes' quality about them, but Mary (and I've only heard her play once on TV) and Tony Creehan (from West Clare, so not an East Clare style player) had that slow, graceful style I think you're describing. A contentious opinion I expect many people to disagree with!
