Wheatstone with Jeffries bellows?

[richard]

Hello

 

I noticed this English concertina on Ebay. It has a Wheatstone label. But the bellows papers and Gold tooling look a lot like what I've seen on Jeffries. Is this unusual?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-Concertina-wheatstone-london-/140615621634?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Keyboard_RL&hash=item20bd581c02

 

 

Richard

[RP3]

I was wondering when someone else would notice and comment on this. Not only does it look like a Jeffries bellows -- complete with Jeffries style bellows papers, Jeffries stamping and the twin gold lines along the edge banding -- but the thumb straps have the Jeffries stamp on them too! Yes, this is unusual but I don't know how much so. I've never seen it before, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been repeated. This same style of bellows decoration was also found on some Crabbs and Crabb-made Ball Beavons, so there is the possibility that they did a re-work of this concertina and used their own style of decoration. Maybe Geoff can add some light to this conundrum?

 

Ross Schlabach

[RAc]

Hello

 

I noticed this English concertina on Ebay. It has a Wheatstone label. But the bellows papers and Gold tooling look a lot like what I've seen on Jeffries. Is this unusual?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-Concertina-wheatstone-london-/140615621634?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Keyboard_RL&hash=item20bd581c02

 

 

Richard

 

well, as far as the thumb straps and papers are concerned, those can be purchased in Jeffries design from David Leese (and the papers from Jürgen Suttner if I recall correctly), so aside from the gold tooling, this may as well be any restoration job done w/ replacement parts from either of these sources (as far as the pictures reveal, it seems a fairly decent job to me if it's that).

Edited October 12, 2011 by Ruediger R. Asche

[Geoffrey Crabb]

I was wondering when someone else would notice and comment on this. Not only does it look like a Jeffries bellows -- complete with Jeffries style bellows papers, Jeffries stamping and the twin gold lines along the edge banding -- but the thumb straps have the Jeffries stamp on them too! Yes, this is unusual but I don't know how much so. I've never seen it before, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been repeated. This same style of bellows decoration was also found on some Crabbs and Crabb-made Ball Beavons, so there is the possibility that they did a re-work of this concertina and used their own style of decoration. Maybe Geoff can add some light to this conundrum?

 

Ross Schlabach

 

Quite likely bellows replacement by Crabbs pre-1930's. Decoration at customer request? as rarely applied to replacement English bellows. It is improbable that the decoration is a recent addition as part of a renovation as I would expect the damage to the underside of the 'end band' to have been addressed.

 

Although the paper and gilding styles are now attributed to Jeffries, they were in use by John Crabb on Anglo instruments supplied to Jeffries (pre -1895), Ball beavon and others. The majority of Crabb branded Anglo's and some Duets upto 1930 normally had decorated bellows. After that date, with the decline in popularity of the concertina, the decoration was seen as an uneccessary addition to price and was dispensed with unless specifically requested.

 

Crabb Anglo of 1910

 

Click pic.to enlarge.

 

Geoff