Beautiful Maccann Duet Antique Concertina

[pdxplayer]

Hi,

 

I'm selling this antique maccann duet concertina on ebay right now. it is very unique, w bone buttons and leather bellows. it has an "english made" trademark as well as maccanns duet patent number engraved into the handles. it was serviced with new felts about eight years ago and it is in playing condition.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/rare-english-maccann-duet-concertina-possible-lachenal-/290557115443?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a68dbc33#ht_9001wt_1141

 

 

[Stephen Chambers]

... it is very unique, w bone buttons and leather bellows.

 

So what's "unique" about that?

[Theo]

... it is very unique, w bone buttons and leather bellows.

 

So what's "unique" about that?

 

The serial number perhaps!

[Rod]

... it is very unique, w bone buttons and leather bellows.

 

So what's "unique" about that?

 

It certainly can't be VERY unique, as we all should have been taught at school !

[Dirge]

... it is very unique, w bone buttons and leather bellows.

 

So what's "unique" about that?

 

'Ebayspeak' isn't it.

[Pete Dunk]

That's a toy not a MacCann, this is a MacCann!

[JimLucas]

I'm selling this antique maccann duet concertina on ebay right now. it is very unique, w bone buttons and leather bellows. it has an "english made" trademark as well as maccanns duet patent number engraved into the handles. it was serviced with new felts about eight years ago and it is in playing condition.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/rare-english-maccann-duet-concertina-possible-lachenal-/290557115443?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a68dbc33#ht_9001wt_1141

Okay, you guys, please cool it with the sarcastic replies.

Unless proven otherwise, I will assume that pdxplayer's excessive enthusiasm is not an attempt to scam us, but is simply due to the fact that he not only knows less about concertinas than we do, but less than he thinks he does. He does seem to have done a little research on the web, but as the saying goes, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." If he didn't believe his own description, this should be the last place he would want to post such a notice.

 

For pdxplayer:

• The instrument you have for sale is not unique (which pedants will tell you means it's the only one of its kind, so that your "very" is meaningless), nor even particularly rare, unless there's something special about it that's not in your description.
  
• 45 buttons and the fact that the buttons are bone suggest that it's one of Lachenal's lesser models, though with metal ends it wouldn't have been their very lowest quality.
  
• "serviced with new felts" is an ambiguous description at best, and quite likely an incorrect one, or at least incomplete. The felt components of a concertina are bushings, which aren't nearly as likely to need replacing as pads, valves, and possibly a few other parts. If instead of just "new felts" the instrument was given a full overhaul, then that would be worth noting, as well of the identity of the person who did the work. It does look to be in decent shape, though internal photos would be a significant help.
  

Good luck on your sale, though I would recommend not expecting to get too high a price for it.

[Pete Dunk]

Okay, you guys, please cool it with the sarcastic replies.

 

[Dirge]

 

Okay, you guys, please cool it with the sarcastic replies.

 

 

 

Well if YOU say so, Jim, then of course we will...

[JimLucas]

Okay, you guys, please cool it with the sarcastic replies.

 

Well if YOU say so, Jim, then of course we will...

... or should I say,

?

[saguaro_squeezer]

There's an almost invisible line between wit and sarcasm. Sadly, I'm usually on the wrong side of it.

 

 

[otsaku]

There's an almost invisible line between wit and sarcasm. Sadly, I'm usually on the wrong side of it.

 

 

Hmm that would explain 90% of the conflicts I've had in the past 30 years - why does no one tell you these things when you need them?

[Stephen Chambers]

[*]45 buttons and the fact that the buttons are bone suggest that it's one of Lachenal's lesser models, though with metal ends it wouldn't have been their very lowest quality.

 

Actually, it is of Lachenal's lowest quality of duet Jim, but with steel reeds instead of brass - so a "No. 4 Class" - and with the optional "Nickel Plated Tops ... £1 extra" instead of the commoner spindle-cut wooden ones on this model.

 

 

[*]"serviced with new felts" is an ambiguous description at best, and quite likely an incorrect one, or at least incomplete. The felt components of a concertina are bushings, which aren't nearly as likely to need replacing as pads, valves, and possibly a few other parts. If instead of just "new felts" the instrument was given a full overhaul, then that would be worth noting, as well of the identity of the person who did the work. It does look to be in decent shape, though internal photos would be a significant help.

 

Indeed so, though the eBay seller added to their description that:

 

On Apr-18-11 at 13:26:00 PDT, seller added the following information:

 

**this concertina has had it's pads replaced 8 years ago by "the squeezebox" ( a very reputable concertina company) and is in playable condition with no leaks in bellows.

 

Mind you, I suspect he maybe meant that it had been worked on by "The Button Box"???

 

 

Good luck on your sale, though I would recommend not expecting to get too high a price for it.

 

It could make a decent starter box for someone to learn the MacCann system on, but hardly "unique" or "a true collectors item" - which is pure hype on the seller's part.

Edited April 22, 2011 by Stephen Chambers

[saguaro_squeezer]

I'll offer that "unique" in ebay-speak might mean that there isn't one on ebay at the moment.

[JimLucas]

I'll offer that "unique" in ebay-speak might mean that there isn't one on ebay at the moment.

I doubt that it's thought through that carefully. Instead, I think that quite a few (maybe even the majority) who use the word today think that it's just another word for "rare" and have no idea even that its root means "one". (Hmm. Wild speculation: Maybe they think it's un-ique and that "ique" is a synonym for "common"?)

[Boney]

... it is very unique, w bone buttons and leather bellows.

So what's "unique" about that?

It certainly can't be VERY unique, as we all should have been taught at school !

 

Isn't absolutely everything unique, really?

 

The meaning of most words isn't so black and white, and using them in colorful or non-literal ways is quite useful. "Very unique" to me would imply that not only is it "one of a kind," but it's more distinctive from similar items than usual. For example, every snowflake is unique, but an eight-sided one would be "very unique."

 

Or read what Merriam-Webster say about "very unique" in their Usage Discussion:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unique

[Dowright]

I'm selling this antique maccann duet concertina on ebay right now. it is very unique, w bone buttons and leather bellows. it has an "english made" trademark as well as maccanns duet patent number engraved into the handles. it was serviced with new felts about eight years ago and it is in playing condition.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/rare-english-maccann-duet-concertina-possible-lachenal-/290557115443?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a68dbc33#ht_9001wt_1141

Okay, you guys, please cool it with the sarcastic replies.

Unless proven otherwise, I will assume that pdxplayer's excessive enthusiasm is not an attempt to scam us, but is simply due to the fact that he not only knows less about concertinas than we do, but less than he thinks he does. He does seem to have done a little research on the web, but as the saying goes, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." If he didn't believe his own description, this should be the last place he would want to post such a notice.

 

For pdxplayer:

• The instrument you have for sale is not unique (which pedants will tell you means it's the only one of its kind, so that your "very" is meaningless), nor even particularly rare, unless there's something special about it that's not in your description.
  
• 45 buttons and the fact that the buttons are bone suggest that it's one of Lachenal's lesser models, though with metal ends it wouldn't have been their very lowest quality.
  
• "serviced with new felts" is an ambiguous description at best, and quite likely an incorrect one, or at least incomplete. The felt components of a concertina are bushings, which aren't nearly as likely to need replacing as pads, valves, and possibly a few other parts. If instead of just "new felts" the instrument was given a full overhaul, then that would be worth noting, as well of the identity of the person who did the work. It does look to be in decent shape, though internal photos would be a significant help.
  

Good luck on your sale, though I would recommend not expecting to get too high a price for it.

 

If it in fact had 45 keys, it would be rare, if not unique. Of the 246 Lachenal Maccann duets for which I have information, there is not one with 45 keys. But alas, this one--like more than 100 others in my data--has 21 + 25 = 46 keys. Nothing unique there.

But Jim was right on-the-money when he said not to expect a high price. Sold for only US$599.

Edited April 27, 2011 by Dowright