seanb

Agreed Paul, the fretwork was the first thing that made me think George Case, and the papers confirmed it, though I would expect there to be several serial numbers on an instrument of his, in fact they commonly have different numbers on the ends, reed pans and bellows frames. It would therefore date from the 1850's. Yes -- as you can see on the pictures there are two numbers (2141 and 1643) stamped on the end, while the number 2032 appears inside. I guess those are some kind of serial number. Anyway, thanks -- that's been useful. At least I now know where (and when) it came from. Now all I need to do is learn to play it.... Sean

Hi. I'd appreciate some help in identifying an instrument that I recently "inherited". It's an English baritone concertina. It has no obvious manufacturer markings that I can see. Nor a clear serial number although there is what looks like a number etched on the wooden case. I've taken the end off, but there are again no obvious markings on the inside. The white pegs have note names etched into them. It's in what I think is the original (mahogany?) box. Still in quite nice condition and seems to play ok (but then I'm a guitarist so what do I know :-). I've put some photos of the instrument (inside and out) up at: http://potato.cs.man.ac.uk/seanb/concertina/ I'm interested in getting any info I can about it. Ideally a manufacterer and an idea of date of manufacture. I'd also like a rough valuation for insurance purposes (although I appreciate that that's difficult to do without really seeing the beast). Thanks in advance for any help! Sean