tortoise shell concertinas

[JimLucas]

Another of these rare beasts has come up for sale, and as usual, there's a debate as to whether or not they're real tortoise shell (which is actually not from tortoises, but from sea turtles).

 

But as far as I can recall, all the tortoise shell concertinas I've seen -- either personally or posted for sale -- have been Wheatstones, and Æolas, at that. So I wonder... does anyone know of a tortoise shell concertina (or more than one) made by Lachenal or any of the other makers, besides Wheatstone?

[Randy Stein]

Jim,

Back When I had on loan to purchase a tortoise shell 48 button Wheatstone. I did not particularly care for the sound or the action and passed on it. If I am correct, it was not an actual tortoise shell but a very tough faux veneer that had some minor binks and bops to it. Sergei was not enamored with it but that may have been because I was not purchasing it from him.

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[JimLucas]

Back When I had on loan to purchase a tortoise shell 48 button Wheatstone. I did not particularly care for the sound or the action and passed on it. If I am correct, it was not an actual tortoise shell but a very tough faux veneer that had some minor binks and bops to it.

Did you do any tests on it to determine whether it was real or fake?

 

And what vintage was it? I remember a 1950's vintage Aeola with bright red bellows that also had red paint under the tortoise shell (or "tortoise shell") to give it a much redder color. But if it was fake TS, why not get it colored red to start with and not bother with the paint?

[Randy Stein]

Back When I had on loan to purchase a tortoise shell 48 button Wheatstone. I did not particularly care for the sound or the action and passed on it. If I am correct, it was not an actual tortoise shell but a very tough faux veneer that had some minor binks and bops to it.

Did you do any tests on it to determine whether it was real or fake?

 

And what vintage was it? I remember a 1950's vintage Aeola with bright red bellows that also had red paint under the tortoise shell (or "tortoise shell") to give it a much redder color. But if it was fake TS, why not get it colored red to start with and not bother with the paint?

I took it to Accordion O Rama and they checked it out for me. He said it was veneer.

I can't imagine tortoise shell holding up for very long. Even though it has a certain hardness, it tends to crack easily. I would defer to some expert historians on this one who have a better knowledge of some of the Italian and English made concertinas from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

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[wim wakker]

My experience based on 30+ tortoise shell concertinas we’ve restored over the last 20 years:

 

Most of them were Wheatstone Aeolas with (poor quality) gold plated hardware. I have seen a few Lachenal edeophones of the same quality.

 

The ‘shell’ material is always veneer, with a thickness of 0.6-0.8mm. The base, usually pear wood or ebony, is invariably stained red, which explains the typical color of these instruments. The early ones are a brownish red, and the ones from the ‘50s are often bright red.

 

There are several tests to determine if the material really is tortoise shell. One of the fastest and easiest is touching the shell with something hot (e.g. soldering iron, heated screw driver, etc.). I usually test under the thumb strap or finger rest.

Real tortoise shell will smell like ‘the ocean’ or sea weed. It has that particular salty smell associated with the sea.

When it smells like burnt hair, the material is ‘pealed’ horn. Other materials used are celluloid and an early form of plastic, which both smell like plastic.

 

A Typical problem with non wood veneers is keeping it glued to the base. They used hide and fish glue on earlier instruments, and a PVA based glue on later ones. Over time the glue will let go and causes cracks in the veneer or curled up ends, especially on the frames.

 

Unfortunately, of all the instruments we’ve worked on, only a few were real tortoise shell. All of these were very early instruments. Most of the pre 1930 instruments were horn, and the 1950s aeolas (especially the ones for the USA) were celluloid/plastic.

We have ‘won’ many import/export cases based on this test, both in Europe and the USA.

 

The veneer material does not have any effect on the sound of the instrument. The reed/reed pan/action board/frame, etc. of a shell finished instrument is identical to a standard ebony or ebonized pear wood aeola/edeophone.

 

Wim Wakker

Concertina Connection Inc.

Wakker Concertinas

[Ed Stander]

Wim:

A morning of research and discussions with gemologists turned up some interesting observations:

 

1) Tortoise Shell is made of keratin, as is horn. Both smell like burnt hair when heated with a hot pin. I did find one source which suggested a salty smell, but this source was far outnumbered by the burnt hair folk.

2) The boundaries between dark and light material in real tortoise shell is composed of small points of pigment which can usually be picked up through a 10x loupe. Horn is dyed on the surface, and doesn't have the 3D look of Tortoise shell.

3) Real Tortoise shell fluoresces blue-white under long wavelength UV, while horn does not.

4) Real Tortoise shell darkens with age if kept in the light. Horn does not.

 

Both are natural thermoplastics. Horn is made by grinding up horn material and compressing it between platens. Tortoise shell is built up over time by the hawksbill turtle, and may show growth rings. It is also thickened sometimes by laminating one sheet to another, and this lamination is readily seen in cross section. However, given the thinness of lamination on the typical concertina, I don't think these laminae will show.

 

And, finally, having writ all this, I'm still not sure if my concertina is horn or shell. The difference is supposedly obvious once you've seen the two side by side, but it beggars description. One thing I have noted on my concertina, however, is the fact that the (whateveritis) fractures in an unusual way - it forms very fine spherules which reflect very little light. Don't know why, but it is something to look into one of these days...

 

Best - Ed

[Ed Stander]

For those who are really interested, please look at the figures on page 240. They show the primary difference between true tortoiseshell and the various simulants.

By the by - Faux tortoise shell in the 1800's was primarily made of Casein, which has a very different smell to shell or modern plastics - something approaching lightly burnt milk. Is it possible that the early shell concertinas were laminated with the faux shell, and not the other way around?

 

NB: An even more likely early Tortoise Shell simulant was Cellulose Nitrate, which gives off an odor similar to Wim's 'ocean smell'. CN was one of the first plastics and has been around since the early 1800's. It was used extensively as a substitute for shell. 'nuff said.

 

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=t-OQO3Wk-JsC&pg=PA239&lpg=PA239&dq=casein+tortoise+shell&source=bl&ots=p_QZ2ADIjZ&sig=iV7fJ7IWI96VWzCCnR3XKwL_e-Y&hl=en&ei=NL1ZTIKnCIeWsgOLyN26Cg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CDMQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=casein%20tortoise%20shell&f=false

 

Best - Ed

Edited August 4, 2010 by Ed Stander

[wim wakker]

Ed:

Thanks for the information. I can appreciate the facts as you list them, but based on my experience and the overall quality of the instruments I have worked on (leather quality of the bellows, cheap gold plating, standard construction and reeds, etc.), I don’t think the majority of the instruments have ‘real’, or at least high quality tortoise shell ends.

I don’t think the price difference between a standard and tortoise shell concertina covered the expense of the material and complexity of working with it. The premium for a little jewelry box with tortoise shell would be at last a hundred percent.

 

 

I agree, they are both keratin. However, you can smell the difference between glues made out of cow and pig hide/bones... you can also smell the difference between keratin from different animals. I learned about the ‘smell’ test from an auctioneer specialized in antique furniture who assured me that this was the easiest way to check for authenticity. In fact, to my knowledge the test is also used by customs. You’ll be surprised how many substances in our field are identified by nose (wood, French polishes, oils, etc.).

 

Your right, in real tortoise shell the darker sections seem to ‘float’. The material normally is buffed to a shine which allows you to ‘look into’ the tortoise shell. However, I have never seen the quality tortoise shell you’ll find on fine antiques on a concertina. Just like the ivory on forte pianos which also was seldom first choice.

 

Many imitation tortoise shell concertinas have been finished with a lacquer or French polished to provide the ‘shine’ of real tortoise. The underside of the material (not the top) is dyed to mimic the depth of real tortoise. Over time the finish gets damaged and dirty which makes it impossible to ‘look into’ the material.

 

A reason older instruments get darker (less red, more brownish) is because of the oxidation of the red pigment used to stain the wooden base.

 

Lamination shows in the fretwork of the instrument. Just scrape the side of the material with a small knife and you’ll be able to determine if it consists of one or more layers.

I wonder if the knowledge and skill was available in the Wheatstone/Lachenal concertina shop to perform complicated and time consuming work like laminating an instrument with raised ends with multiple layers of tortoise shell: The tortoise shell would have to be heated to a temperature higher than the setting temperature of the glue holding the first layer down on the wooden base. Certainly in those days (early 1900s) fish glue would have been the best available glue, but it cannot be heated after it has set.

 

To my knowledge, cellulose nitrate has a quite pungent smell, easily distinguishable from a more subdued ‘natural’ smell.

I have heard of casein, but never seen it. I always thought it was out of use by the time they started to produce tortoise shell concertinas.

 

Wim

[Ed Stander]

Wim:

Any idea what the price differential was between Ebonized wood and Tortoise shell? I've not seen it listed as an option in the Wheatstone price sheets.

 

Other comments....

On the subject of cellulose - you might be mixing up cellulose nitrate with cellulose acetate. The former gives off a mild smell of moth balls, while the latter breaks down slowly to acetic acid ( ie. vinegar.). Casein has been around since the late 1800's.

 

As to the burnt hair smell - my contact in the gem world says that horn and shell smell pretty much alike (at least he could never tell them apart), and neither smells much like seaweed.

 

On the subject of lamination - it is apparently easy to laminate the shell before it is applied as a veneer. Warm water and a bit of friction does it. Unfortunately, I've not been able to find out the thickness of the scutes produced by the turtle, so I don't know if layering was necessary in our case.

 

I agree that expense might be a consideration in the case of concertinas, but I have a feeling that the Wheatstone company got around that by using grade 'b' material... That is - the 'shell' on my concertina is significantly lacking in the patchy coloration that makes tortoise shell an organic 'gem stone'. This latter, in fact, argues in favor of real tortoise shell, as the plastic stuff is closer to what people expect from shell...

 

In any case - I hope to bring my concertina down to the gem shop later today for a look see.

 

Best - Ed

[Mike Pierceall]

 

To my knowledge, cellulose nitrate has a quite pungent smell, easily distinguishable from a more subdued ‘natural’ smell.

I have heard of casein, but never seen it. I always thought it was out of use by the time they started to produce tortoise shell concertinas.

 

Wim

This may have been mentioned previously, but I would strongly advise against sticking a hot pin in cellulose nitrate. It is highly combustible.

[Stephen Chambers]

I have heard of casein, but never seen it. I always thought it was out of use by the time they started to produce tortoise shell concertinas.

 

You probably have seen it in concertinas Wim, though without knowing what it was. In the form of "Erinoid" rod, casein started to be used for the buttons on Lachenal concertinas in the late 1920s - so around the same time that "tortoiseshell" concertinas started to appear, and cellulose nitrate ("celluloid") was starting to become a popular finish on accordions...

 

The first use of Erinoid by Wheatstone's is recorded in the ledgers on Sept. 11, 1933. (See Stephen Chambers - Some Notes on Lachenal Concertina Production and Serial Numbers)

 

Harry Crabb also made some instruments with Erinoid buttons, in the 1930s.