Who Made This Concertina?

[Marien]

I saw this old asthmetic one in an auction that looks unusual to me.

It has metal buttons.

The metal hand rest looks like jeffries but I think that it has the lachenal kind of hooks and lever kind of action.

Anyone who has an idea who made this?

 

[SteveS]

Sold for £1350

Anyone here win it?

[RP3]

Well, three things suggest to me that it is a Lachenal and not a Jeffries: the metal ends (especially the cartouche), the bellows end stamping, and the bellows papers. Also the button size and shape is wrong for a Jeffries.

 

The price paid might indicate that the buyer agrees with the above!

 

Ross Schlabach

[Wolf Molkentin]

I can confirm that the bellows end stamping looks exactly like on the bellows of my Lachenal Excelsior, as shown here.

[Guest mglamb]

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Edited August 10, 2013 by mglamb

[JimLucas]

The hand rests don't match the ends....

 

Some past owner encountered that style hand bar on a Jeffries, liked it, and had it copied? Why not?

[Guest mglamb]

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Edited August 10, 2013 by mglamb

[JimLucas]

The hand rests don't match the ends....

 

Some past owner encountered that style hand bar on a Jeffries, liked it, and had it copied? Why not?

 

I wasn't aware that I said there was a problem with them, just that they weren't original.

 

Sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you did.

 

My "why not?" was really meant to imply that such a modification of a vintage concertina may be unusual and even unexpected, but not necessarily a bad idea.

[Don Taylor]

The metal ends appear to have holes for three more buttons - so maybe they came off yet another concertina.

 

Is this a composite of at least three different concertinas?

 

A Frankentina!

Edited July 18, 2013 by sjm

[Geoffrey Crabb]

Probably Lachenal.

Right side visible, indicates a 40 key instrument with 3 buttons just missing/lost.

Buttons may be replacements and suggest that the instrument may have originally had 0.25 inch. bone buttons

Fretwork under the handrest was usually included on instruments with metal hand rests. It was not unusual for patterns to be copied from other makes and while it is possible that metal handrests may have been fitted originally at customer request or to make the instrument resemble those of Crabb or Jeffries, a hole visible in the middle of that part of the fret under the hand rest suggests that a wooden handle may have been fitted either originally or for a time during the life of the instrument. The existing hand rests are more possibly later additions as the fixing holes do not align with holes in the top.

The method of securing the metal top by a small screw in each corner to the upper frame of the ‘split’ end box suggests originality.

The gilding pattern used on the bellows ends can be found on other makes and was not particular to Lachenal.

 

Geoffrey