Myrtle's cook

That's very helpful, thank you Stephen.

Could I ask for a date for an English Concertina, ebony ends with silver nickel(?) floral insets, 48 glass buttons, 5 fold bellows and steel reeds with internal numbering 12582, please? From preceding number attributions it looks to be mid 1860s(?), any further refinement to this would be of interest. Looking to the 1861 Lachenal catalogue it appears to be a 'model 7' http://www.concertina.com/pricelists/lachenal/Lachenal-Intl-Exhibition-1862.pdf a marque that would later be described as 'Excelsior'. I'm not sure if the reeds on mine are 'standard' or 'tempered', there's some suggestion of the bluing one might expect with tempering, but nothing definitive to my untutored eye. Many thanks, in advance.

There's one that has appeared in his listed stock today (perhaps Des's instrument): https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/english-concertinas/wheatstone-48-key-baritone/ Looks rather nice should one have the funds.

I have asked the seller for more details (more photos, dimensions) on the supposed Bass instrument (I'd wondered if this was a New Model F tenor with replacement ends that has been hiding out in a damp cellar?? - but would defer to the bass identification above). My request was posted shortly after it was listed, I haven't had a reply yet - but will happily share should it arrive.

The following duet is being offered for sale by a Cumbria auctioneer (I'm not a party to this sale): https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/1818-auctioneers/catalogue-id-sr1810458/lot-94ff6842-2284-47b2-8349-acfb00ede64c It looks to be a McCann duet. Some unusual aspects. -Firstly, to state the obvious, it is rectangular in form. Not unknown I realise, and I have a postcard of the Paget trio with six such rectangular instruments, although these appear based on the New Model or Wheatstone equivalent (i.e. raised ends and metal labels). Quite a few earlier rectangular instruments in the Concertina museum etc -Its numbering -57473 - seems to follow the series used for ECs (or perhaps early Anglos??), not the 4 digit serial numbers one usually encounters on Lachenal duets -It has an intriguing inner inscription - a photo of this is shown, and appears to read ' LACHNAL. & Co . MAKERS./[FO]R INVENTOR. J.H. MACCANN_/LONDON_ 1883. PLYMOUTH'. (sic) Some thoughts: As Lachenal is misspelt in the internal inscription one has to wonder if it was really applied by the makers or MacCann himself. As it doesn't use 4 digit Lachenal serial numbers is it a very early duet? The patent was awarded for Maccann's duet in 1884, so 1883 could fit for a prototype - if the inscription is treated literally and we make the link that the date actually applies to the instrument, rather than just being a sort of commentary on the instrument inscribed by an owner If this is the case then isn't 57473 rather later than 1883 (and the patent was awarded for Maccann's duet in 1884 if I recall correctly) or an early duet? If following the EC sequence this would be second decade of C20th (or later?). Or is it part of the Anglo sequence of numbering, which I confess I know little about. What do people think?

The Mayfair range were produced by Wheatstone to a specific price point and in doing so they cut out many of the things that those starting out on concertina were considered unlikely to require. Consequently gone are many of the sharps/flats (the black keys) and some of the (white) higher notes. If you look at a standard treble concertina fingering chart your lowest 'white' note on the right hand side is going to be G3, on the left it's A. The two rows of white buttons on either side will then correspond to a standard fingering chart (e.g. http://www.concertina.com/fingering/images/english48-W842H736.gif) until you run out of buttons where the Mayfair range is truncates the range. You should also be able to use this as points from which to identify which sharps/flats you have got. If you then want to tie in your buttons to musical notation, this should help: https://www.concertina.info/tina.faq/images/finger6.htm Hope this helps!

Hi Tiposx I have a Morse Geordie Tenor that isn't getting played much at the moment that I might consider parting with. PM me if interested. Kind regards

There's a broadly similar 'stretched hexagan' Chidley EC listed on the Concertina Museum site http://concertinamuseum.com/CM00246.htm which also has screwed in reeds. The item on the Barleycorn site is relatively small for a baritone (last picture, next to an Anglo) - I wonder if this is enabled by arranging the reeds along the edges of the box as per the Concertina Museum instrument(?) As Alex suggest, perhaps a prototype? I also notice the Barleycorn instrument is now listed as sold subject to completion.

There is no credible trace of him amongst Liverpool's extant burial records - so if he used that name or was recognised as such at time of death he is probably buried elsewhere. His last known Liverpool addresses suggests he is unlikely to have been buried out of borough (it was in proximity to most of the City's main cemetries) unless he had moved away or died in another place.

Hi Ann Here's a previous Cnet posts that might help...

Welcome to Cnet Rednal Your concertina is a Wheatstone 'Aeola' tenor treble English concertina. The tenor treble range is probably the most useful for most of us English Concertina players. The 'Aeola' (8 sided rather than the traditional six sided instrument; although early aeola examples are six sided - but that's a whole different story) was Wheatstone's top range in it's day. Your example was made in 1919 (see the manufacturer's ledger page: http://www.horniman.info/DKNSARC/SD01/PAGES/D1P1220S.HTM). This is generally regarded as a 'good' period for this range. I have an example made within a few weeks of your own and it certainly plays extremely well. In terms of value this hinges on condition, and much of this relates to it's internal state, in particular the reeds which are the heart and soul of the instrument. Reeds can become damaged through rust, aggressive filing for tuning etc. Fully restored decent examples usually sell in the UK for around £3400-3900 (sterling) - with the subtler nuances of price often depending on how the instrument plays and of course what the seller thinks they can get for it. Most older instruments will require work, as a minimum new pads, new valves and retuning. Any good concertina repairer/restorer will go through a rigorous examination process before undertaking any work and this may well identify other things that need putting right. As a guide, and from my own experience, the tuning, re-pad, re-valve, new thumb straps and some minor work on the bellows would come in at around £400-500 (sterling) - this sounds a lot, but it's time-consuming and fiddly work that requires quite a lot of skill and expertise. More things to fix, then more cost. Your alternative, of course, would be to sell it unrestored. A dealer would probably want to give it close inspection before suggesting a price, although there are some who might take a risk. From personal experience I would say Cnet (this site) is a good place to sell, with the seller usually making a modest donation to the site to help keep it going when a sale is made. If you went down this route, I would suggest posting photos of the reed pans so that potential buyers have some idea the state of the reeds. It is not difficult to open the instrument up to get these photos, although it does take some knowledge, care and a methodical approach - and the right sized screw driver so as not to damage screw heads (which might then add significant cost to restoration)!. I think this will be described elsewhere on this site, or if not one of us can provide advice and guidance. This could well be a great instrument that someone would really enjoy playing. it might have passed it's 100th birthday, but has the potential to give another 100 years with sympathetic care and some restoration. Good luck!

Breath taking! Thank you Christian (and Daniel)

The instrument (original subject of this thread) is listed as 'passed' by the auctioneer, in other words it did not sell. I see a linota in the same sale realised £2,900, which even with commission et al, seems a reasonable price assuming reeds etc were in decent fettle. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/gardiner-houlgate/catalogue-id-srgard10135/lot-6977a607-d1bf-4bbe-b018-ab0c00fa115d

If it's a concertina then this is a good place to advertise with only a modest voluntary donation requested to cover running of the site. Many of those interested in the instrument look at this site and share what they see with others which increases your potential 'shop window'. I'd second Mike S's advice in terms of transactions. An alternative is to collect payment by bank transfer (BACS) and only ship once payment is safely received (I have found this has been troubled free for a couple of concertina and dulcimer sales/purchases I have made). (rcr27 and I posted at the same moment, so excuse the lack of flow!)

In addition to Wolf's helpful suggestion of Chris Algar, you might also consider contacting Theo Gibb who is both restorer and dealer (he's a frequent and generous contributor to this forum). He also sells on a commission basis, potentially giving a seller a little more control over price. It might be that he could restore your concertina and then sell on a commission basis. His website is called 'The Box Place' - all details there. I haven't sold via Theo, but he did restore a concertina for me and I was pleased with his work (by coincidence that was also a Wheatstone Baritone, although some decades earlier than yours) and enjoyed 'dealing' with him.