Daniel Hersh

I'm hanging on to my own copies...but I have had pretty good luck in situations like this in doing a "saved search" on ebay and getting an automated notification when the item becomes available there.

Thanks, Greg - I think you're right. I should have taken a closer look at the bellows, and I suspect you're right about the action too. The ends are a pretty good imitation of an English-made concertina.

I am puzzled by this one that's now on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-30-Button-Anglo-CONCERTINA-Works-Needs-Restored/153321689713 It looks English-made at first glance, but I believe it has screws rather than endbolts , and the rows of buttons appear to me to be a bit straighter than on the British makes. The fretwork has a little crown-like shape where a brand name and serial number would appear on a Lachenal. This picture may show a British-style action on the inside, but I am not at all sure. Any thoughts, anyone? It occurred to me that it might be German-made but with British construction methods, like the English concertinas described here.

The one you linked to has the Lachenal trademark on it, so I would guess that it's a Lachenal:

Thanks! Link added.

Of the instruments that I have played, I would say that the top modern concertinas and the best vintage concertinas are both very, very good in responsiveness and tone. I hesitate to make an general statement that top modern is either better or worse than top vintage. I know that at least one top modern maker feels that he has improved on some aspects of traditional designs - I don't feel qualified to say whether I think he's right.

I've played Anglo basically forever (for 35 or 40 years) and I've played Crane for about eight years. I use Crane mainly for solo playing and Anglo mainly for playing with other musicians. I'm glad that I play both. I play piano accordion too (less often). I don't have any real trouble switching back and forth, though I find it helpful to have a couple of minutes to warm up on each instrument if I play one right after another. I also played Hayden before I took up Crane and I experimented with Chemnitzer for a while, but I don't actively play either of those now. Two concertina systems and one accordion seems about right for me.

A rather pretty German one with pierced wooden sides is now on eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-Victorian-Small-20-Keys-Concertina-No-Reserve-5-day-auction/352534901564

Very nice, both in arrangement and execution.

There was some discussion of pierced sides in this thread:

Added in the Intermediate/Mid-range category, since the photos all appear to show accordion reeds. Thanks!

I suspect it's because many people played them in styles where 20 buttons were enough.

Well, vintage concertinas don't all sound the same as each other - but it sounds like a concertina-reeded instrument.

Here's a picture: It looks like a copy of this Brunner/Stagi "Organetto abruzzese" which is described as "4 reeds bass, 24 reeds melody". Has anyone seen the Chinese one for sale anywhere retail? It's listed wholesale on Alibaba here but I don't really want 50 of them!

Edited to add the concertina-reeded Wolverton Advanced Model.