Lachenal Anglo German

[Fistone]

I have a Lachenal Anglo German, 30 button concertina which has been in my possession for over 20 years.

I play English concertina so I am looking to offload the instrument.

The instrument has been well used and will require attention to become fully playable once again.

 

Following recent forum discussions relating to German, Anglo German, Anglo Chromatic etc, I am unsure about the tuning for this instrument. There are conventional wrist straps and three rows of buttons each side. It seems that the instrument has a chromatic scale since the same note plays when the bellows are compressed and extended.

The label on the end states the following:

 

The Peerless Anglo German, manufactured by Lachenal & Co, specially for John G Murdoch & Co Ltd.

 

Lachenal & Co (as distinct from Louis Lachenal) it seems produced instruments to order. John G. Murdoch and Co Ltd was a company that had been founded in 1871 as a printer and publisher. Later they branched out into music publishing, importers, retailers and manufacturers of organs and pianos, agents for Edison and Columbia, musical instrument wholesalers, pram, mangle and toy manufacturers and more. Eventually they would have all these diverse enterprises plus a large chain of retail music and furniture shops.

 

There is no serial number on the instrument but there is a number on the top of the case - 127932. If this is the true serial number then the date will fall between 1873 and 1933. I suspect the age of mine to be about 1905/06, but this is speculative.

 

Does anyone have any further information on this? Sorry, File size too big to send a photo but can email if interested.

Does the instrument hold any value?

[Novascotian]

This sounds interesting. I have a Victorian Lachenal Duet (pictured in my avatar). My serial is 1015 but the Duets had a separate serial run. I'd love to see a photo to have a good look a the layout of the keys. Do you play the instrument? If so, do you know if the set-up differs from the Wheatstone/Lachenal English layout?

[gcoover]

If it's an "Anglo", each button should play two different notes when you push and pull on it. Are you sure they're the same??? If so, this is some unusual instrument tuned like a Jeffries Duet. If it's a normal Anglo, the value depends on whether it is in good condition, in tune, A=440, higher quality instruments usually had metal ends and metal buttons. A photo would help! I'll send you a PM for more info.

Gary