Myrtle's cook

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.

My initial reaction from the photograph of the later concertina was similar to Wolf's. However, according to the Wheatstone ledgers 25278 is a model '10 Baritone rosewood polished 48 [key]' http://www.horniman.info/DKNSARC/SD01/PAGES/D1P0120S.HTM It would indeed be sought after

I thought this might be of interest (the sale has nothing to do with me): https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/gardiner-houlgate/catalogue-id-srgard10135/lot-a0a96f76-501d-4578-9d34-ab0c00fa115d Quoted from auctioneers description: Fine and rare C. Wheatstone & Co specially commissioned large concertina with Jeffries fingering, circa 1951, stamped C. Wheatstone & Co, Inventors, Patentees & Manufacturers, Concertinas & Aeolas, London to one side and bearing the serial number 30740 to the other, with sixty-four metal buttons on pierced foliate ends, eight-fold bellows, original leather case *This concertina has remained in the same family by descent since it was specially commissioned from J.A. Travers, Concertina & Accordion Specialists at Castle House, Enmore, Near Bridgwater, Somerset by James Henry Harvey who was a lifetime member and secretary of the I.C.A. The instrument is sold with two letters of provenance to this effect

And a slightly different route to the same thing... http://concertinamuseum.com/ And for a Crabb concertina, specifically: http://concertinamuseum.com/SiteS4m.htm

I saw the original broadcast and wondered who had made the concertina. It looks great! Whilst the sound quality isn't recording studio standard, it sounds pretty good too - particularly the balance. Thanks for sharing the attribution and clip.

The third pinned post in the Buy & Sell folder includes a Paypal link, not sure the button made it onto the new site now you point it out(?)

Thanks Geoff - that had been my first thought, but I had clearly confused myself with an over-literal reading of the later part of the description. Yes - very, very useful...

That is a helpful clarification - thanks Wolf

The description appears on the site appears taken from what is perhaps the maker's description or a bill of sale (or similar), my italics: 'Colin Dipper forty-eight button 'English' system concertina tenor (viola range) with top note F and the top notes of the normal 48 keys are located at the bottom. Ten-sided amboyna wood on hardwood core with hand cut fret and ebony edges. Aircraft aluminium action levers, naval brass capped lightweight buttons, best handmade steel reeds in brass frames, ebony finger plates. It has dark green Scottish hand finished goatskin bellows and was made in the 1980s. It comes with a hard carrying case.' If I understand this correctly, then this is a custom layout - and a little unusual - I am taking this as the bottom 4 buttons on each side playing the four notes usually found at the top of each keyboard. Am I missing something here, not seen this before, but can see it has some utility??