Mike Franch

Glad this thread was revived. I really enjoyed the recording, and am inspired (I hope) to fix the bellows of my Jones brass-reeded English so experience again that lovely brass sound.

Mr. Crabb wrote, "What follows is my findings and in no way is to be considered an academic paper" Well, I'm a one-time academic historian, and I'd say this is damn good research, clearly laid out. It's also a nice picture into the scale and family nature of this major concertina maker. Which raises the question, should we think of Lachenal as only a somewhat larger enterprise than that of the Crabb family?

Absolutely! I think I got my camera bag from Goodwill. I agree with Dana about the limitations of soft bags. But I think that in many circumstances, they will cushion a fall better than a hard case, which I think would be more likely to transfer the shock to the instrument. And yes, do not, under any circumstances, crash your bike.

I care my concertina in a camera case, so that's protective and light. When I go by bicycle, I have the case attached to me and not directly to the bike. That lets me absorb the bumps instead of the instrument. I'm the 'tina's shock absorber!

I don't know if it was that one, but when I saw him several years ago he was playing an Edeophone-looking instrument, but badged as a Wheatstone, presumably made from the jigs they acquired when Lachenal went out of business.

And three cheers for Mr. Walker for stepping away from this job. That shows class. And cheers to you, Everett, for taking this to the community. I certainly can think of a time that I should have done so!

I hope this is viewed as reinforcing, rather than taking things off topic: As an example of what "concertina" means in large parts of the American Upper Midwest, using the search engine of your choice, look for "Milwaukee+concertina." You'll get listings for concertina bars and taverns, many with Polish names. These are beer and polka places, not venues for Irish sessions, and the concertinas are not our concertinas. As an illustration of this, although an old one, to be sure: In an interview in Concertina & Squeezebox (no 31,Summer 1994), Louisa Jo Killen (then Louis Killen): "I was thinking about being a concertina maker--there was a course being offered in Redwing, Minnesota. [Interviewer: For Chemnitzer-style concertinas.] That's what it turned out to be, this was an accordion and concertina making class. And the lady who was teaching was trained by Hohner . . . . I went to visit with her, to find out about the course. As I discovered, she had never touched an English concertina, and unfortunately I didn't have mine with me. It was regrettable, because she was saying she had never heard a 'concert' concertina; she'd never played a Wheatstone--the only English concertina she'd ever played was a Bastari, which is not too different from those bandoneons, which is what she thought was a true concertina."

Once you get it restored, you might want to get a modern case or, at the very least, rest this case on its side. Storing a concertina vertically, though the traditional way (or maybe I should say old-fashioned way) is not good for valves--the leather strips accompanying each reed.

It does, indeed. Many thanks. I can see the occasional use of a piccolo, and wouldn't mind having one. I have a 56-button box (bought because I wanted 48 buttons) and have never has use for the upper range. In fact, I rarely go above the second C above middle C, but that's another topic. Thanks again.

I once had the opportunity to play a tune on a Crabb miniature English. A beautiful little instrument!

How does the piccolo related to the upper range of the extended range treble? I have one, but have never found much use for the upper end, and when I do, people ask me not to.

Agreed! In fact, agreed with gusto!

Signed up! Will be my first time. Be nice to me, folks!

And, to my mind, the S.V. was much more convenient that the air button, but that's probably off topic.

And in 1933 he was granted a patent for a ventilator (for a building, not the kind Dave Barnert uses): https://patents.google.com/patent/US1897440.