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Alex West

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Couple of suggestions over on thesession

 

1:

Square duet here.

 

 

2:

The fact that this has (presumably) only 24 playing keys leads me to believe that the square concertina in the auction is an Anglo.

 

Also, an air release button is usual on an Anglo, but rare - (although not unknown) - on a duet.

 

Cheers

Dick

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  • 10 years later...

So we have an answer, but not the question?

 

Let's see...

Is this it?

The linked page says "Concertina in case, with label Scottish Concertina, W. Mitchell, Wishaw", and picture is "© GREAT WESTERN AUCTIONS, Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland, UK" as per the third post in this thread, so appears to be copied from the same auction listing.

serve_image.php.jpg

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9 hours ago, sadbrewer said:

10 years and one day to the last post, this article solves the issue...hope this is helpful,

Andy

 

Snap-2021-10-25-at-11-20-52.png

 

Very helpful, though rather hard to read. I've made a transcription of it, as best as I could, but I can't guarantee that every word of it is correct:

 

A "SCOTTISH"

CONCERTINA

-----

Wishaw Man's Invention

-----

A NEW INDUSTRY

 

"It is possible that my invention may lead to a new industry for Wishaw," said Mr. William Mitchell, music-seller, 111 Main Street, who has invented an improved "Scottish" concertina, in an interview with a "Motherwell Times" representative on Tuesday. I do not mean that we shall rival Ford, but it may give employment to boys left school."

 

To Encourage Music

 

Mr. Mitchell discovered when he entered the music trade that there was a need for a cheaper and better instrument than German and Anglo German concertinas, and he set himself to the task at providing that. The concertina he has completed is the result of seventeen years experiments, and is a better instrument than the German and much more simple than either the English or the German. It has, too, the advantage of being much cheaper. For the English concertina Mr. Mitchell has nothing but praise, but with the complicated key-board it was impossible to put it within the reach of the working class. The German concertina has no half tones; the English concertina is five notes short of the four octaves. The Scottish concertina has both half tones and the full four octaves.

 

Fine Tone

 

Mr. Mitchell secures both melody and harmony and it was delightful to listen to his playing of "Jock o' Hazeldean," "Mary Morison," and "Traumerei." It is manufactured in eighteen different types, and Mr. Mitchell is confident that his instrument, either for solo, quartet, or band work, is "the best yet." He intends to start a local concertina band in order to popularise the new instrument and help to revive Scotland's musical tradition.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Stephen Chambers
Edited to add "quartet"
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Now William Mitchell's assertion that "the English concertina is five notes short of the four octaves. The Scottish concertina has ... the full four octaves" makes sense if you consider that the English concertina (with 48 buttons) has 14 notes to the octave (with G#/Ab and D#/Eb buttons), but that, without the enharmonic notes, his Scottish concertina (with 24 buttons) can have a four-octave range only if it plays different notes on both draw and press...

 

So it must have been a (sort-of) Anglo-Duet concertina! 😲

 

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2 hours ago, Moll Peatly said:

So we have an answer, but not the question?

 

Let's see...

Is this it?

The linked page says "Concertina in case, with label Scottish Concertina, W. Mitchell, Wishaw", and picture is "© GREAT WESTERN AUCTIONS, Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland, UK" as per the third post in this thread, so appears to be copied from the same auction listing.

serve_image.php.jpg

 

That must be it - I should have looked at Google sooner! 😉

 

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