reg

Since Geoff made his comment, about the "F" push note on the top of the column on LH side and how it was not properly matched to the "F#" in the accompanying RH column, I went ahead and also checked all of the reed note stamps on their brass mounts on the LH side too. Below are the images of the LH reeds and what I recorded. Note; that one reed is not marked. I was not able to read the stamp because it was not properly stamped in the brass. However, that reed is an F note. I found something very curious regarding the "F" that Geoff mentioned in his analysis. There is an X marked in pencil right next to that reed on the wood. So, at some point, someone else must have also noticed this same issue. The stamp in the brass is also rather difficult to read due to it being stamped poorly. It's hard to make out whether it was meant to be read as an F# or an E#. After reading Geoff's interpretation, I now believe that this reed was meant to be an F# but was mistakenly read as an E# due to the poor way that it was stamped in the brass and that is why someone, somewhere along the way, put an F or E# reed in this mount instead of the F# that should have been mounted there. I don't know how difficult it would be to perhaps alter the reed that is there, by filing it sharp, or to replace this reed with the proper F# reed but that is now something that appears to be necessary. If anyone has any additional questions regarding this, I can do my best to offer further info by responding here in this forum. Or, you can contact me via email reggiemiles@gmail.com Many thanks for the help Geoff!

I see that there are a few of the leather flaps missing in these photos too. Was this a purposeful omission? Were there ever any there to begin with? David, I'll have to bring this to the post office to have it weighed. I don't have a proper scale here.

Jim, I can read the name of the reed stamped on the brass mount for that push note in question and it is definitely stamped as an F# and also vibrates as an F#. I also went ahead and read each stamp for each reed mounted on the RH side and then marked them on the photos that I took of each set of the RH reeds. The following photos indicate the keys stamped on each brass reed mount on the RH side. Note; that though an "F" is indicated in pencil on the wood near one of the reeds, the actual reed in that slot is a "G". Could it be that this instrument has been altered at some point to allow it to play as it does or was the "F" pencil mark added by, whomever, a mistake that was later corrected. Or, and this is wild speculation, could the reeds have been misplaced in this arrangement by some previous repair person. I don't know. The more I explore this, the more it's beginning to feel like a musical archeology pursuit. I guess it is.

One further note about this instrument, as with any older instrument, I am certain that any player that might be interested in this concertina will most certainly wish to have it set up to offer optimum playability for their particular use and approach by having it looked over by their own trusted source for such work, repair or restoration. It is in as found condition and while it is playable, it could certainly benefit by having someone with the proper skill and knowledge in such matters lend their expertise to the task of offering maintenance and service to it.

To try to explain further, given my inexperience in creating a proper diagram to understand the way the notes appear, I wanted to add that all of the notes in this display are offered in a "push/pull" fashion. I hope that this clears up any confusion that I may have inadvertently caused via my lack of understanding as to the formal manner of how to offer them. Being one of those musical types that plays by ear, I know little that I can easily relate about musical theory but after studying the way that the notes fall on the LH and RH sides, I do see a couple of patterns. The bottom 5 push notes in each corresponding column of six notes on both the LH and RH sides all seem related. In each of the LH and RH columns that start at the top with the push note B, the bottom 5 push notes are all F - D - Bb. In the next column the bottom 5 push notes are all C - A - F, in the following column the same bottom 5 push notes are all Eb - C - Ab and in the last column the bottom 5 push notes are Bb - G - Eb. I also notice that the notes are reversed from top to bottom in each column on each LH and RH side too. So, while the push notes appear as F - D - Bb on the LH side, they appear as Bb - D - F on the RH side. Likewise, another pattern emerges when I look at the middle four pull notes in each corresponding column of six on the LH and RH sides. They are also the same but reversed in the way that they appear. As to why the bottom most pull notes in each column differ and the top most notes in each column differ from these patterns, I can only speculate that this has some musical significance that escapes my less educated understanding. Again, I'll let those of you with a greater understanding in these more musical matters offer your explanations.

Okay, here is an image of the left and right hand notes side by side. Whew! I think that I finally got all of the notes correctly depicted. Sorry for my less than accurate previous posts. This is all new to me and I guess that I made my errors in my transferring my notes from my pitch pipe to the printed page. I rearranged the LH notes here to follow what I am told is the way that they are described for the convenience of those who of you who are actually players. The top of each of the columns of are center in this image, as though the bellows were bent "U" shaped. The bottoms of each column are on the outer left and right edges of this diagram. Note that all of the notes on the top of each column are the same except one. There is an F/Ab on the left but a corresponding F#/Ab on the right. What does it all mean? I'll leave that to you, who are more talented in this pursuit than I.

Here are the LH inside images for this W."Jeffries" Maker. It really could use a good cleaning. Again, these images do not accurately depict the condition of the reeds. I suspect this is due to a number of factors, my inexperience with how to work with optimizing the settings on this camera, this "older" digital camera's ability to work with the available light, the flash on the camera, the way the reeds have been filed and therefore how they manage to reflect the way the light strikes them. Again, I'll try borrowing a newer camera and see if can upload some better images that show the actual condition of the reeds. In the last of these images, you can see the stamp of STAR MFG. CO. I'm guessing that they were responsible for some of the repairs to this.

I just noticed that I spelled Jeffries incorrectly in the title of this post. Here are some additional images that I hope can offer some idea about what I've got. Yes, it could use a good cleaning but it is playable and not falling apart. It seems to have had some repair work done, as I mentioned in my posts about this last fall. Please note that the camera I'm using is beyond offering a really good close up of the reeds. In these images the reeds appear very corroded looking. That is not the case at all. There is some very minor corrosion but it is very slight. My camera simply cannot capture the light correctly to indicate their actual condition. This is partly due to the way the reeds have been filed and therefore the way that they reflect the light. I'll see if I can borrow a better camera, to offer close up images of the reeds in order to give those of you who are interested a more accurate idea of their condition and post those images later today. I see that I am limited by the size of the images in my post so I'll offer these images in two different installments. Here are a couple of front and back images and the RH insides.

Jim, Many thanks for your posts. However, being unfamiliar with the editor here, I can't seem to figure out how to force it to do my will. You asked for it. Here are the LH push/pull notes, described as you have done so with the RH, (over 90 degrees). The RH description is represented first and below that is the LH description. (You might already understand that the straps would be situated below each diagram in this method of depicting the notes.) As I play it, the buttons on each side of this concertina seem to be arranged in four vertical rows each containing six buttons. (See photos) In my uneducated way of playing it, the notes that are lower are on the left side. Is this correct? Or am I trying to play this thing upside down? If correct, then the air button, to fill the bellows, is on the RH side located near where my thumb can access it. The angle that they form in their leaning way looks more like how I've depicted them below. Think of it like this, the two B/C# buttons on each side are an octave apart. They are located farthest from the straps as I play and are uppermost as I play. For reference, the lowest note that I can play is on the LH side. (*I have no idea how it happened but there were some terrible mistakes in the initial notation of the right hand side. I wasn't aware of this until I checked this posting from this morning just now. So, I've fixed the mistakes in the description of the RH notes. I very sorry for the confusion! Perhaps you can offer some additional comment now that I have all the right notes in the right places) (Nutz! Another error corrected, the C/Ab should be C/G on the RH side. I've fixed it here and will do so elsewhere too. B/C# Bb/A D/C F/Eb Bb/G D/A ..F#/Ab F/E A/G C/Bb F/D A/E ...A/B Ab/G C/Bb Eb/C# Ab/F C/G ....E/F# Eb/D G/F Bb/Ab Eb/C G/D B/C# F/G D/Eb Bb/C F/A Bb/F ..F/Ab C/D A/Bb F/G C/E A/C ...A/B Eb/F C/C# Ab/Bb Eb/G (Ab)/Eb <-the lowest note available is the (Ab) here ....E/F# Bb/C G/Ab Eb/F Bb/D G/Bb Reg

Uh oh! Sorry, I wasn't aware that the smiley face that I texted would end up turning into that weird yellow look of confusion.

Jim, By way of explanation, I am not a player of concertinas. I play music but I know nothing about the reading or writing of the hens scratchin's part of it. I posted the image of the notes as they appeared on this concertina as I held it and played it in its normal upright fashion. The way I saw them as I sat behind the instrument. I like the way you've arranged them here. (B/C#) It's far easier to express in written form than my diagram. ) Would you like me to go through the LH notes and offer them up for your consideration?

Thanks for the lead Dan. I'll do what I can to find Wim and see what wisdom I can extract. Many thanks to each of the rest of you, Chris, Paul, David, des tracey and Bruce for your comments and the information shared here. David, perhaps you are correct with your comment about Ebay. It does seem to reach many folks with a great many diverse interests.

Very sweet looking instrument!

To answer question about the key that this anglo plays, I sat down with my pitch pipe last fall and worked out which notes belonged to each reed on the right hand side and I posted my findings on August 25th 2009 in the General Discussion forum here. What I initially posted was messed up somehow when I plotted the notes. (*I have found some errors in the original diagram, no doubt my own fault, and I have edited this diagram to include the proper notes.) The push/pull notes for the RH buttons, are as follows. The buttons closest to the strap are on the left side of my diagram below. These notes are arranged to simulate the way that they appear on the concertina as I play. ...................................B/C# .......................F#/Ab..Bb/A ............A/B......F/E......D/C E/F#....Ab/*G....A/G....F/Eb <-----the lowest note is this *G Eb/D...C/Bb....C/Bb...Bb/G G/F.....Eb/C#...F/D.....D/A Bb/Ab..Ab/F.....*A/E <------- the highest note is this *A Eb/C...C/G G/D

Hi David, Thanks for your inquiry.Yep, we've determined that it is an anglo. I understand the comment regarding the playable nature of the instrument but do folks really play these? Or are they merely collectible? There are one or two shops in the area that specialize in such things that I've been meaning to bring it by and get an opinion from. Petosa's seems as though they are very knowledgeable in all things squeezable with reeds and there's one other guy, further south, who has asked me to stop by when I'm in his neighborhood.

I've tried to inquire here in the forum about the possible value of this instrument but unfortunately the rarity of it is such that no one seems to know. If one looks at his father's work, it is perhaps possible to determine some reference, as it is very similar but I have no clue. Have you any thoughts about what this might be worth? I am interested in selling this. Knowing it is rare is getting me spooked about playing it. Yes, it does play. All of the reeds work. It's a 48 button anglo. Someone here mentioned that they thought it was made for the Salvation Army.

Well, I guess that I'm still wondering what this might valued at, but given that it's as rare as it is, since few have ever even seen one, I also wonder if my question can even be answered. Can a value be placed on something this rare? Is it truly valued less than his father's work, even though his father's instruments are far better known and more of them are around? Have I stumbled upon the needle in the haystack? Does this rare example hold any interest to players or collectors? Or is it just an oddity? reg

Does The Salvation Army actually play such a large role in the development of this instrument that one could expect to find comcertinas specifically created for use with this organization?

Okay, throwing caution to the wind, I gently pulled up the reed bed from the left hand side where the stuck reed was. Nothing looked out of place. So, I blew across the reed plates and found some light dust escaping. I thought that perhaps a little dust contamination could be the problem. I blew through the twin reeds in and out with just my breath to see if I could jump start the one that's been stubborn and that's all she needed to get vibrating again. So, I've everything working, all 96 reeds sound off. Here's something else I found while in there. On the bellows, which look as though they have been repaired by someone in the past, I saw stamped twice the name STAR MFG. CO. 2351 Milwaukee Ave. Chicago 47 Ill. No zip code means that this stamp predates that period. I took a look online and Googled the info I found. There was only one reference to Star Mfg Co. It was a PDF file that someone posted online of a five page catalog from 1961 of instruments offered for sale by this company. It appears that they made, and I guess, also repaired concertinas and accordions. Or perhaps they simply imported them for sale in the states. Or maybe they did it all. I was surprised to see that their most expensive offering was priced $950. That would have been a great deal of money in the early 60s. So, at some time in the early 1960s, or before, the Star Concertina & Accordion Mfg Company had a look inside this one and left their mark. I got my pitch pipe out and started to determine what keys might be had and determined that the lowest note I can make on the left hand side is an Ab and the highest note on the left hand side is an Ab. While the lowest note on the right hand side is an A and the highest is a G. I don't know what accidentals are. I have noted that you can get a fairly regular progression of tones, at least they sound regular to me, when pushing on the bellows as you traveling up a column, until the top of every column, where the notes turn into something unlike the rest in the column. I'd call it irregular. As you can see in the pictures I provided, the notes are arranged in a kind of slightly bowed trapezoid shape. As I push the bellows and the RH buttons, I get the following. The buttons closest to the strap are on the left side of my diagrams below. ..................B ............F#..Bb ......A....F....D E....Eb...A....F Ab..G....C...Bb C....Bb...F...D Eb...Eb..(A) <------- the highest note is this A Ab...G C Pulling the bellows I get these notes from the RH buttons. ...................C# ............Ab...A ......B.....E....C F#.(G)....G....Eb <------- the lowest note is the G on the left D....Bb...Bb...G F.....C#..D.....A Ab...F.....E C....G D I'll send along the LH side notes later when I can get more time.

Stephen, yes, when I last spoke to Mike, he had an inaccurate description of what I had. Perhaps due to my inability to offer him the proper details he needed. Just as those here thought that pictures of this would be needed to better determine or confirm what it was that I had, he wanted to be able to see it in order to understand it better. So, here's my next question. As a rare concertina, what kind of value might this hold? I've seen Charles' instruments offered for sale. Is this something that would be considered as valuable? Or would it perhaps be more so given it's rare nature? Any thoughts? many thanks, reg

Oh, okay, so this is an Anglo. Because the notes being played while opening and closing the bellows are definitely different and it's not because of any rust contamination. As I mentioned, this instrument is about as rust free as one could ever hope to find something of this age. So, have you any idea how old this might be? You've said that it was made when concertina making was at its peak. When was that? All indications that I've found so far lead me to believe that it was sometime in the early 1900s, given the Nelson Liners ad that I found on the piece of news paper that was wrapped around the twine in the handle of the case. That fleet was later sold off to another company. Though I suppose that the case could have been picked up anywhere along the way and added. There seems to be only one repair person that I was told about, locally. His name is Mike. I got his info from one of the clerks at a Seattle area shop. I gave him a call and he said that he'd like to have a look at this when I'm in his neighborhood.

Here's a larger view of the left side. I'm still struggling with all of the hoops to post these.

OK, so I guess the well-known US Angloist was told wrong by the repairer (it's gotta be the same instrument I was asked about, W. Jeffries concertinas are incredibly rare), or jumped to the wrong conclusion based on a description. It appears to be either an Anglo with a full 4 rows (which in itself would be extremely rare) or (maybe?) a Jeffries duet, or something strange?. Reg, it's potentially quite valuable, it deserves to be professionally looked at/repaired. Okay, here's the other side, the LH side. It's just like the other side, except no extra button to add air to the bellows. Being an innocent, I still have too little understanding about the exact differences between a Duet and an Anglo but as you've said, this could be something unique, perhaps something experimental, maybe even a one off idea that never caught on. Back in the day, I imagine, that since the making of such instruments was in its infancy, there may have been some noodling with the design concepts, since no one was demanding that everything should be standardized. Perhaps it's a customized piece, made special for just one player that wanted it done in this fashion.

Here are the bellows. I'll have to post the left side later.

Here's the right side. Whew! This was not an easy challenge to post this. I'm working with stone age tools.