My 'canacott' Jeffries 38K 1899 In Ab/eb - Old Pitch!

Ptarmigan · August 29, 2014

Due to financial constraints I am reluctantly having to sell my treasured old Jeffries Concertina.

It was first bought on the 26th of June 1899, by one Albert Canacott {1881 to 1956}, new from Mr Charles Jeffries & signed by himself ..... & I actually have the receipt!

When Albert died, in 1956, it passed down to his son, who you can see on the right, in this old photo.

It cost Albert the princely sum of £7 & 7 Shillings, although on the day he actually only laid down £2 & 2 Shillings. However, the only other time this Concertina ever actually changed hands for money then, was in 2010, when I bought it from Albert's Grandson. Neither Albert's son, nor his Grandson, ever learned to play this instrument, so it has only ever had two 'playing' owners. As it is in old pitch too, I haven't actually played it very often in the past 4 years, so there's a lot of life left in this old dog.

As well as Albert's Receipt, signed by Charles Jeffries himself, I have his little old Concertina Book, which contains detailed drawings of all the notes & how to play a number of scales, which is fascinating to see.

Sadly, Albert's whole company was killed in a Mustard Gas attack, during the first World War & as they were clearing away the bodies, they actually found Albert, still alive under a pile of bodies!

Can you imagine how that must have felt, being the only survivor!
Needless to say, he always had trouble with his lungs after that, but still managed to reach the ripe old age of 75!

To give you an idea of just how gorgeous the reeds sound, here are a couple of videos of me playing this Concertina.

Reels, Polkas & a selection of tunes myself & a few friends played for a TV show, set in our local session pub.

Two Reels:

Set of Polkas:

Rathlin Air, Turfahun Barndance, Kate marie & Rathlin Reel:

I have posted some photographs below to give an idea of the condition of this instrument. The original case, receipt & Albert's old book will of course be included in the sale.

As I have said, its present pitch is between present day G/D & Ab/Eb, so it could be lightly tuned either way. As the reeds are in their original state, they will undoubtedly be in excellent condition for such a re-tune & so will still maintain that gorgeous tone that you only get with a quality vintage instrument like this.

The bellows are also original & I have just never had the heart to replace those, especially as it plays so well, as it is, but if this Concertina is going to be played seriously, following a re-tune, then new bellows would be required.

Other than that it is in excellent shape for an instrument that is now about 115 years old.

For the lucky buyer, this will probably be a once in a lifetime opportunity to get their hands on such an exquisite instrument, with those gorgeous Jeffries Reeds in original condition, not whittled away to thin, pale, weak & wasted versions of their former selves, as is the case with so many old Jeffries out there today, that have sadly suffered a number of re-tunes over the years.

So, I would ask anyone who is seriously interested in this instrument, to contact me privately for more information & I will be happy to discuss the finer details with them.

The photos posted below are relatively small, but larger ones can be sent by eMail to anyone who is seriously interested.

I would prefer to sell this instrument in Ireland, as I have no intention of posting it.

In any case, I would like to meet the new owner in person, which would also give them an opportunity to actually check this Concertina out for themselves.

As is the custom, I am offering this instrument to the Concertina family of players here, but if a buyer is not forthcoming I will, of course then post it for sale by auction, on eBay.

Please enjoy checking out the photos below.

Cheers,

Dick

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Now here are a few photos of this lovely Concertina.

#1 - The receipt, dated 26th of June 1899 & signed by Charles Jeffries himself: