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STEPHEN CHAMBERS had the misfortune to be stricken with the highly contagious concertina bug around the time he left school in 1970. He believes he caught it as a result of attending folk clubs in Derby and his native Burton-on-Trent, though he cannot rule out the malevolent influence of the "Concertina Consciousness" movement that was active at the time, not forgetting his becoming a member of the International Concertina Association at an early stage (as the result of an accidental meeting with ICA Secretary Jim Harvey on London's Battersea Bridge). In the early stages of the illness he rapidly progressed from simply listening to concertinas being played to seeking to have one of his own; an ambition he rapidly achieved with the purchase of an 1890s Wheatstone for £25 through an advert in the local newspaper, and his life has never been the same since. The progression of the bug to fully blown Concertina Acquisition Disorder, coupled with an interest in history and training as a librarian, has caused him to carry out research on the instruments murky past and to publish articles about it, but really he is only trying to mask the symptoms of his condition.
He is the author of "Louis Lachenal : Engineer and Concertina Manufacturer" Part 1, "An Annotated Catalogue of Historic European Free-Reed Instruments ... " (based on the instruments exhibited at the Symposium "Harmonium und Handharmonika", at Stiftung Kloster Michaelstein, in November 1999) and "Some Notes on Lachenal Concertina Production and Serial Numbers", which stands (in the interim) for "Louis Lachenal" Part 2.
All the above may now be viewed online, courtesy of Robert Gaskins, by clicking on the Home Page url below.
His latest paper "Joseph Astley, Oldham Concertina Band
and the MHJ Shield" was published in PICA (Papers of the International Concertina Association) Volume 4, 2007: http://www.concertina.org/archive/pica/pica_2007_4/pica4_2007_p31_44.pdf
Stephen is the present custodian of the first Wheatstone concertina (his avatar), which was formerly the pride of Wheatstone's own collection. It was shown, & described as such, in the 1961 Pathe Newsreel "Concertina Factory", or "Concert in a Factory"(which can be viewed online at: http://www.britishpathe.com/product_display.php?searchword=concertina+factory).
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I couldn't agree more, in fact I was thinking of posting something similar myself, adding the argument that the C strings are red on harps too (which quite-likely influenced Wheatstone's) but we don't call them all "student models" because of it...
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Viceroy wasn't a German manufacturer, it was a brand name of the London musical instrument wholesalers Rose Morris & Co., which was put onto various of their cheap lines and toy/educational instruments, including many inexpensive imported accordions and concertinas that were made for them in Klingenthal, Saxony. The 'VICEROY' trade mark was a play on the names of Rose-Morris company director Victor Morris, and his son Roy. (see: https://rosemorris.com/pages/rose-morris-always-with-pleasure-1920-to-1970-part-1)
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When I saw this one for sale on eBay I thought it looked like a "Tidder" - though I've never seen one that was stamped "STEEL REEDS" (like a steel-reeded Lachenal) on the righthand rail (handle) before, and photos of the rubber-stamped serial number confirm it. A Louis Lachenal with such a low serial number would look like this one (number 7602, made for H. Journet c.1867) from my research collection: https://photobucket.com/share/70f78d1e-4d01-4b90-aa2d-0c10960a2dd0 Take the fabric out and throw it away, that's what everybody else does.
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I've PM'd you.
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Concertina Things in Ireland?
Stephen Chambers replied to Cathasach's topic in General Concertina Discussion
Thanks, they're only a small part of my research collection of early free-reed instruments, and they have a few more antique instruments of mine there too (a fiddle, 8-key flute, etc.) - in fact pretty much all their "museum" of instruments are mine, as far as I know. -
Henry Harley - concertina maker
Stephen Chambers replied to wes williams's topic in Concertina History
You'll find that offset of the inside row on some early German concertinas Geoff, and on some 39-key Jeffries Anglos too (I've converted several of them to "normal"), presumably to facilitate players who had learnt on German instruments with that set-up. I was told it was known as "artistic fingering" on Jeffries instruments. -
Strange German concertina.
Stephen Chambers replied to Bassconcertina.net's topic in Concertina History
I'd forgotten about this other strange one, with similarities, that I saw in the museum in Klingenthal years ago. -
Can anyone help identify the maker of no. 4976?
Stephen Chambers replied to MarkRRutgers's topic in Concertina History
I see what you mean, and there are also screw holes that have been plugged with wood evident too. But that's all at the tip end and I'd wonder if the reeds might simply have been relocated closer to the edge of the reedpan? -
I'd use the screw-in inserts as necessary, but I'd usually re-tap the existing receivers to M2.5, or 3-48, depending on which I find more expedient.
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Concertina Connection in the United States offer a custom end-bolt making service: https://www.concertinaconnection.com/end_bolts.htm Concertina Connection Inc. 9811 South Big Rock Lane P.O.Box 211 Valleyford, WA 99036 USA phone: 509-922-1626 fax: 509-922-1626 email: info@concertinaconnection.com
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I'd always change all 12 while I'm at it, it's no big deal and much less confusing (and asking for trouble) to have more than one thread on one instrument.
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It's certainly what I do with cheap models of concertina, especially when the bolts are very rust-prone mild-steel ones with cheese heads, or woodscrews. Years ago it used to be 7BA that I'd use (and I think Crabb's had gone over to using them on their new instruments, if I remember rightly), but then the odd-numbered BA threads were done away with and only even-numbered ones are available now. So more-recently I went Metric and started using M2.5 x 30mm, first (a bag of 500!) in stainless steel, and this year I managed to get some in brass as well. But, never mind the thread for a minute, the heads on the bolts have never been (flat-topped) cheese head on better models of concertina, they've always had "fillister head" ones (with a domed crown), and they can only be got (with difficulty), in stainless steel, in the United States, where the equivalent (Whitworth-related) thread is 3-48. But, in this particular case (a bass), extra-long 2" bolts are needed, and you won't find ready-made ones that are as thin - in fact 1 1/4" (for normal concertinas) are hard enough to find as it is!
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That sounds quite plausible. Klingenthal, in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) on the Czech border, was the epicentre for the manufacture of inexpesive free-reed instruments, starting in 1852. There were at least four Schlott firms there, over the years, making harmonicas and/or accordions, whilst your concertina doesn't seem to make it clear which one of them made it, but the only other possibility might be Gustav Schlott, who was in business from 1919 up until WW2. I've also found a "Union Jack" melodeon (2-stop, 10-key, 2-bass accordion) on the internet, but it's not clear which Schlott made that either.
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It was made at Klingenthal, Saxony, and the design of it is intended to make it look more "English" rather than typically German. The firm was (probably) G. A. Schlott and Söhne, founded in 1909 and still trading in 1961. In their latter years they used the brand name "Galotta". The factory was still standing last time I was there, but I hear it's been demolished since.
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I'd suggest asking Steve Dickinson...