Wrinkly1

My apologies... Lachenal & Co, six sided, bone buttons, flat wooden fretted ends, 4 bellows folds. Thanks for your help.

Hi, Lachenal 48b English, serial No. 43094. Any thoughts on year of manufacture? Many thanks...

Thanks for that suggestion. I'm on the south coast (UK) near Portsmouth. The nearest group appears to be in Ringwood which is a bit of a hike for regular meetings (45 miles) but I've sent the organizer an email so we'll see if anything comes of that. They occasionally do education event days which would be good.

Thanks for the benefit of your wisdom folks, appreciate it. I'd pretty much come to the same conclusion and won't be pursuing. What a mine field this hobby appears to be! I'm musically 'keen', play some other instruments and would love to take up the concertina but put off by all the comments about cheap Chinese models with no longevity, or hit and miss quality. It leaves me with the impression that most of the new sub £1k concertinas are all flavours of the same standard components re-badged to fit a particular price point. How on earth does a novice choose what a 'good' investment is and at what price point an appropriate level of quality kicks in? The only reason I was looking at vintage was because of the recommendations of others on various forums but I guess it needs to be a guaranteed, renovated vintage model which probably equates to far too much money for someone wanting to dip a toe.

I'm looking at purchasing a vintage Lachenal English 48 concertina in an unrestored state. It is an early model and the seller (ex dealer/restorer) says it is in good condition 'for its age' with no broken reeds but flattened pads. Valves not leaking, bellows are air tight. There isn't the option to see a video or hear it being played... but potentially a valid reason for this. Person has other concertinas and accordions for sale. I don't have the option of travelling to view the concertina so it would have to be mailed. So, my question is, should I run the other way or for the cost of a Chinese model is it worth a punt? If it turns out to be a disaster, how much would I expect to pay (UK) for a modest renovation to bring it up to a playable condition? Appreciate some guidance. David