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Identiy of a Chemnitzer


CaryK

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A friend recently asked me about an old Chemnitzer concertina he received from his father-in-law. It is a wooden-sided, 38-button double. The metal fretwork along the top of the right-hand side has the letter "A" within the design. I can find no numbers externally, but the number 3833-B is pencilled on the interior. Also in the interior is a sticker that says return to the Bolen Mfg Co., Port Washington, Wisconsin. I'm guessing this concertina is from the 1930s. However, the Bolen Mfg Co.only made garden tractors. I can find no record that they also made concertinas, so I'm guessing the owner worked for Bolen and put the sticker in the concertina so it would find its way back to him if ever lost. I don't have any photos at this time, but from my description I was hoping someone might have a clue as to the manufacturer. Thanks.

 

Cary

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A friend recently asked me about an old Chemnitzer concertina he received from his father-in-law. It is a wooden-sided, 38-button double. The metal fretwork along the top of the right-hand side has the letter "A" within the design. I can find no numbers externally, but the number 3833-B is pencilled on the interior. Also in the interior is a sticker that says return to the Bolen Mfg Co., Port Washington, Wisconsin. I'm guessing this concertina is from the 1930s. However, the Bolen Mfg Co.only made garden tractors. I can find no record that they also made concertinas, so I'm guessing the owner worked for Bolen and put the sticker in the concertina so it would find its way back to him if ever lost. I don't have any photos at this time, but from my description I was hoping someone might have a clue as to the manufacturer. Thanks.

 

Cary

 

It's hard to know without a photo (and Ted Kloba would know better than I would) but I'd say that it's probably German-made, possibly by ELA who I believe used the "A" symbol. ELA stood for Ernst Louis Arnold.

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A friend recently asked me about an old Chemnitzer concertina he received from his father-in-law. It is a wooden-sided, 38-button double. The metal fretwork along the top of the right-hand side has the letter "A" within the design. I can find no numbers externally, but the number 3833-B is pencilled on the interior. Also in the interior is a sticker that says return to the Bolen Mfg Co., Port Washington, Wisconsin. I'm guessing this concertina is from the 1930s. However, the Bolen Mfg Co.only made garden tractors. I can find no record that they also made concertinas, so I'm guessing the owner worked for Bolen and put the sticker in the concertina so it would find its way back to him if ever lost. I don't have any photos at this time, but from my description I was hoping someone might have a clue as to the manufacturer. Thanks.

 

Cary

 

It's hard to know without a photo (and Ted Kloba would know better than I would) but I'd say that it's probably German-made, possibly by ELA who I believe used the "A" symbol. ELA stood for Ernst Louis Arnold.

 

Thanks for the tip Daniel. It led me to Alfred Arnold who made Chemnitzers as well as his more famous Bandoneons. I found a picture of one of his Chemnitzer concertinas with the identical grillwork with the single "A" in the middle identical to the one I am researching.

 

Cary

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A friend recently asked me about an old Chemnitzer concertina he received from his father-in-law. It is a wooden-sided, 38-button double. The metal fretwork along the top of the right-hand side has the letter "A" within the design. I can find no numbers externally, but the number 3833-B is pencilled on the interior. Also in the interior is a sticker that says return to the Bolen Mfg Co., Port Washington, Wisconsin. I'm guessing this concertina is from the 1930s. However, the Bolen Mfg Co.only made garden tractors. I can find no record that they also made concertinas, so I'm guessing the owner worked for Bolen and put the sticker in the concertina so it would find its way back to him if ever lost. I don't have any photos at this time, but from my description I was hoping someone might have a clue as to the manufacturer. Thanks.

 

Cary

It's hard to know without a photo (and Ted Kloba would know better than I would) but I'd say that it's probably German-made, possibly by ELA who I believe used the "A" symbol. ELA stood for Ernst Louis Arnold.

Thanks for the tip Daniel. It led me to Alfred Arnold who made Chemnitzers as well as his more famous Bandoneons. I found a picture of one of his Chemnitzer concertinas with the identical grillwork with the single "A" in the middle identical to the one I am researching.

 

Cary

I think that Alfred Arnold more typically used a double "AA" symbol. I've seen instruments attributed to Alfred Arnold that I believe may have actually been made by ELA,

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A friend recently asked me about an old Chemnitzer concertina he received from his father-in-law. It is a wooden-sided, 38-button double. The metal fretwork along the top of the right-hand side has the letter "A" within the design. I can find no numbers externally, but the number 3833-B is pencilled on the interior. Also in the interior is a sticker that says return to the Bolen Mfg Co., Port Washington, Wisconsin. I'm guessing this concertina is from the 1930s. However, the Bolen Mfg Co.only made garden tractors. I can find no record that they also made concertinas, so I'm guessing the owner worked for Bolen and put the sticker in the concertina so it would find its way back to him if ever lost. I don't have any photos at this time, but from my description I was hoping someone might have a clue as to the manufacturer. Thanks.

 

Cary

It's hard to know without a photo (and Ted Kloba would know better than I would) but I'd say that it's probably German-made, possibly by ELA who I believe used the "A" symbol. ELA stood for Ernst Louis Arnold.

Thanks for the tip Daniel. It led me to Alfred Arnold who made Chemnitzers as well as his more famous Bandoneons. I found a picture of one of his Chemnitzer concertinas with the identical grillwork with the single "A" in the middle identical to the one I am researching.

 

Cary

I think that Alfred Arnold more typically used a double "AA" symbol. I've seen instruments attributed to Alfred Arnold that I believe may have actually been made by ELA,

 

I haven't figured out how to post pictures here, but the single "A" was captioned in the example I saw as an Alfred Arnold example. While Ernst Louis Arnold often had all three initials "ELA" on his instruments. However, I'm a real novice with Chemnitzers, so I have no way of evaluating the accuracy of the picture's caption. THe link below shows the single "A" on what is supposed to be an Alfred Arnold bandonion. Regardless of make, I was wondering where one could find a note layout chart for a 38 button (76 key) instrument.

 

http://www.annenheide.de/10-38/02.JPG

 

Cary

Edited by CaryK
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A friend recently asked me about an old Chemnitzer concertina he received from his father-in-law. It is a wooden-sided, 38-button double. The metal fretwork along the top of the right-hand side has the letter "A" within the design. I can find no numbers externally, but the number 3833-B is pencilled on the interior. Also in the interior is a sticker that says return to the Bolen Mfg Co., Port Washington, Wisconsin. I'm guessing this concertina is from the 1930s. However, the Bolen Mfg Co.only made garden tractors. I can find no record that they also made concertinas, so I'm guessing the owner worked for Bolen and put the sticker in the concertina so it would find its way back to him if ever lost. I don't have any photos at this time, but from my description I was hoping someone might have a clue as to the manufacturer. Thanks.

 

Cary

It's hard to know without a photo (and Ted Kloba would know better than I would) but I'd say that it's probably German-made, possibly by ELA who I believe used the "A" symbol. ELA stood for Ernst Louis Arnold.

Thanks for the tip Daniel. It led me to Alfred Arnold who made Chemnitzers as well as his more famous Bandoneons. I found a picture of one of his Chemnitzer concertinas with the identical grillwork with the single "A" in the middle identical to the one I am researching.

 

Cary

I think that Alfred Arnold more typically used a double "AA" symbol. I've seen instruments attributed to Alfred Arnold that I believe may have actually been made by ELA,

 

I haven't figured out how to post pictures here, but the single "A" was captioned in the example I saw as an Alfred Arnold example. While Ernst Louis Arnold often had all three initials "ELA" on his instruments. However, I'm a real novice with Chemnitzers, so I have no way of evaluating the accuracy of the picture's caption. THe link below shows the single "A" on what is supposed to be an Alfred Arnold bandonion. Regardless of make, I was wondering where one could find a note layout chart for a 38 button (76 key) instrument.

 

http://www.annenheide.de/10-38/02.JPG

 

Cary

 

I'm not sure myself. If you or your friend can open up one or both of the ends and look for a maker's stamp, that might help settle it.

 

Some Chemnitzer note layouts, produced by c.net member Ted Kloba, are here. I/m pretty sure that the 76-key layout is a subset of the 104-key, so you can identify the notes you need by matching their numbers (assuming your Chemnitzer has numbered buttons) and cross out the rest on the chart..

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I did open it up and found the number 3833-B pencilled in it. No other maker's mark did I see, but I may go back in and look closer. Thanks for the information about the note layout.

Edited by CaryK
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Hello Cary,

Herewith are two images of the Trademark stamp used by the AA workshop.

When you open your box up again, look for an ink stamp on the end of the reed blocks.

If there is a purple ink stamp like the one in the attached photo, your box may well have been made in the AA workshop.

If so, there will also likely be a name handwritten in pencil alongside one of the reed blocks on either or both of the reed pans.

If there is no stamp or a different stamp, it is less likely that your instrument was made in the AA workshop, but could be from the ELA workshop as already mentioned.

There were actually quite a few workshops making these instruments.

The AA wooden boxes also typically had the stamp impressed in their body on the outside.

I've also included a photo of that.

Given that your box is pearloid, this may not be case.

As you noted, the AA workshop was more noted for the bandonions it produced than its chemnitzers.

Any instrument from the AA workshop is likely to be worthy of serious attention - bandonion or chemnitzer.

Hopefully, this may be helpful to you in your search for your chemnitzer's true origin.

Be Well,

Dan

 

Photos removed to make space for other attachments.

Edited by danersen
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Hello Cary,

Herewith are two images of the Trademark stamp used by the AA workshop.

When you open your box up again, look for an ink stamp on the end of the reed blocks.

If there is a purple ink stamp like the one in the attached photo, your box may well have been made in the AA workshop.

If so, there will also likely be a name handwritten in pencil alongside one of the reed blocks on either or both of the reed pans.

If there is no stamp or a different stamp, it is less likely that your instrument was made in the AA workshop, but could be from the ELA workshop as already mentioned.

There were actually quite a few workshops making these instruments.

The AA wooden boxes also typically had the stamp impressed in their body on the outside.

I've also included a photo of that.

Given that your box is pearloid, this may not be case.

As you noted, the AA workshop was more noted for the bandonions it produced than its chemnitzers.

Any instrument from the AA workshop is likely to be worthy of serious attention - bandonion or chemnitzer.

Hopefully, this may be helpful to you in your search for your chemnitzer's true origin.

Be Well,

Dan

Thanks for the photos, Dan. I will make a more detailed look tonight. The chemnitzer I am looking into is not pearloid. I only attached a photo of a pearloid one with the same exterior grillwork, which was captioned as being one built by Alfred Arnold. The chemnitzer I am working with has a wooden veneer (walnut, perhaps) and not pearloid.

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The chemnitzer I am looking into is not pearloid. I only attached a photo of a pearloid one with the same exterior grillwork, which was captioned as being one built by Alfred Arnold. The chemnitzer I am working with has a wooden veneer (walnut, perhaps) and not pearloid.

 

I don't claim to know much about Alfred Arnold's instruments (though I did have lunch with his daughters, in Chemnitz, a decade ago) but, funnily enough, the image of the grille that you posted looks "wrong" compared with other examples that I've seen - but that's all that you are giving us to go on. Pictures of the instrument you're asking about might be a big help.

 

Otherwise, there are some excellent photos of Alfred Armold Bandoneons, their construction and markings, at www.nuestrosbandoneones.com, if that helps.

 

Edited to add link.

Edited by Stephen Chambers
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