I've come across a older concertina I would like to sell, being an accordion player and repairer of accordions. I wish I were younger. I might try to learn this wonderful instrument. I am working on learning the chromatic button accordion and that is enough for this tired old brain.
This concertina used to belong to my uncle, Eddie Parmentier of Green Bay's "Mecca Music," if that means anything to any of the old timers in the membership. I don't think he ever played it, since it is not the full size concertina he was accustomed to playing. It is a Pearl Queen and though I don't know much about the quality of concertinas, the reeds sound really bright, loud and in tune, and I am sure this was a good instrument at one time. Pearl Queens certainly have a good reputation.
A distinctive thing about this particular box is a hand engraving on the decorative plate on the front opposite the Pearl Queen grille. It says 'Georgi & Vitak, Chicago, Illinois and there are three other initials engraved on it: "MPR." Any connection with the Vitak of the publishing company in Chicago? Anybody know who this instrument might have belonged to? Any ideas on its value? I plan to list it on my accordion sales site: www.onelessguitar.com/, along with some accordions I am selling, some of which also came from the Mecca Music inventory, so I need to put a price on it. I will post it on that web site soon if anyone wants to take a look at it or make an offer..
Any suggestions for a fair value for this box? It is not in great physical condition, but I sense it may have some collector value. Some of the buttons have been played quite a bit, without the mother of pearl caps, and are worn down quite a bit. Somebody played the heck out of this concertina, so they must have liked it. The bellows aren't real tight, probably gaskets. If it was worth something, I would do some repair work on it, but somebody might want to restore it, so I won't do anything if I can sell it as is.
Thanks for your time and any research you might be able to do on this neat old instrument.
Ron Reimer
Ettrick, WI
