Anglogeezer Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 At auction by GOLDING YOUNG & MAWER, Bourne, Lincolnshire. 08th October. Here :- http://www.goldingyoung.com/Lot/?sale=BC081014&lot=16&id=426084 "Bourne Collective Sale - Lot 16A 19thC concertina by C Jefferries, with twenty stops, with gilt tooled leather, in a fitted rosewood case." The description says 20 buttons but I count 38 + air? 6-fold bellows. Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concertina22 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 How much do you think it will go? Does anybody know how much a jeffries concertina is selling for these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 How much do you think it will go? Does anybody know how much a jeffries concertina is selling for these days? One just sold at auction today for £2900, plus buyer's premium (around 20%). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex West Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 That would be the 30 key one in Chiswick Steve? A reasonable price I would have thought given the inevitable refurbishment needed (and without knowing the precise condition. A 38 key might go for more depending who's in the room or on the 'phone and what condition it's in Alex West Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazzy Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 From pictures I guess the one that went today was in better condition. But agree with 38 buttons might add to value, as well as the period - "C.Jeffries maker" period seems to be better than "Praed street". Knowing the key of the instrument and state of the reeds will be crucial, otherwise it is a lottery for a big sum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 That would be the 30 key one in Chiswick Steve? A reasonable price I would have thought given the inevitable refurbishment needed (and without knowing the precise condition. Yes that's right Alex. It went to a 'phone bidder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concertina22 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Is the c.jeffries model more sought after than praed street? Also does anyone have any idea what key this concertina is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RP3 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Concertina22, the C. Jeffries Maker labeled Anglos are generally regarded as having been made during the lifetime of Charles Jeffries (Sr.) but there is no way to prove that concertinas carrying these markings were/weren't made after his demise. The 23 Praed Street location was apparently used by the company between 1891-1908 and numbers of Jeffries concertinas exist with both a 23 Praed Street label and stamping of C. Jeffries Maker, but Jeffries Sr. died in 1906. And Jeffries Bros continued to make concertinas at that location through 1923. So,the general logic is that if you want a concertina that could have been worked on by Sr., then you want concertinas labeled C. Jeffries Maker but with no reference to Praed Street on the label. (This is in spite of the fact that Jeffries operated out of 102 Praed Street from 1879-1891 but AFAIK they didn't label their concertinas with that address.) I have an additional bit of speculation that others may be able to confirm or shoot down. All the bone button Jeffries I have seen are labeled C. Jeffries Maker only and may be from the earlier period when Sr. was still alive, but I haven't seen any bone button Jeffries with Praed Street labels. Of course, buttons could be changed but I think it is fairly safe to assume that most of the Jeffries I have seen/played have their original bone buttons (I admit I have a 28 bone button Bb/F that was metal buttoned at one time but there is no way to know for sure what was on the concertina originally). Can any of our forum members confirm or debunk my speculation?? Ross Schlabach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceemonster Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 there are those who prefer the tone of "Jeffries Bros." to the tone of the "C. Jeffries" instruments. Go figure.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveS Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Hammer price £3700 - internet bidder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concertina22 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 I'm guessing 20% will have to be added to the hammer price? I don't understand how people are playing this sort of money for a concertina. Considering you can now buy many very good new makes without requiring refurbishment for less such as Wally Carroll, Suttner, etc. Having said that the tone is probably not as good as a Jeffries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayman Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Jeffries are unique in their sound and construction, not nearly as plentiful as Wheatstones or Lachenals, and the last really, really good ones were made 100 years ago. Plus there are three separate markets which drive up their value (and the value of any top quality vintage instrument): musicians, art collectors, and antique collectors. You're not just competing against musicians in an auction like this, and the antique collectors don't care what key it's in or how it's tuned or whether it's a "good player". (In fact, they'd probably rather have an original leaky bellows than a new Dipper bellows, just the opposite of what most of us would prefer.) As there was no information about what key, tuning, condition, etc, or even completeness (did it have all its reeds???), I had no interest in bidding, being a musician. But other musicians / repair folks may have deemed it worth such a speculation, and non-musicians (the majority of that auction house's bidders are surely antique collectors) are probably largely responsible for the bidding. If they've done their research, they know as well as we do that Jeffries are scarce and sought-after, and that's all they care about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concertina22 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 http://www.donedeal.ie/keyboards-for-sale/jeffries-concertina/7291084 This is a 38 button C.Jeffries for sale here in Ireland, the same model as the one sold at the auction today. Fully Refurbished and in C/G, It has been advertised for over a month or...two and the seller said it is still for sale. I would imagine that would be a better playing instrument?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayman Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Quite possibly a better playing instrument -- and certainly one with more information provided by the seller. But impossible to say for sure! It's not being sold at (what appeared to be) a high-end antiques auction house whose clientele are (probably) the extraordinarily wealthy; it's being sold on a classifieds website that's local to Ireland. That makes a big difference in who's going to see the listing and who's going to deem it worth buying. A wealthy investment banker from London who wants an art object for their home or an investment in an antique is, frankly, going to trust the swanky auction house to have authenticated and vetted anything they're bidding on, while they're not going to trust an unknown seller on a local classified advertisement. (That's not to say that a wealthy person with no interest in playing music bought the concertina at auction, but I do suspect there were many such people involved in the bidding on various lots at that auction.) It's also being offered at a fixed price, rather than at auction, which affects what some people are willing to pay; and its fixed price is 30% more than what the one at auction sold for. That's a lot to pay for an instrument you can't inspect and try out yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalin Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 (edited) It's also being offered at a fixed price, rather than at auction, which affects what some people are willing to pay; and its fixed price is 30% more than what the one at auction sold for. That's a lot to pay for an instrument you can't inspect and try out yourself. I got burned once buying an instrument I did not try first. I trusted the seller... and the instrument was in worse condition than stated. A lesson that cost me around $2000... I've heard of much more expensive life lessons when I think of it :-) Anyway, I now would never buy an instrument I have not tried first, unless it's from a modern maker or a reputable store like the Button Box. That being said, there's always people willing to gamble a bit (like on the stock market) and they could possibly end up with a very good deal (or very bad). Edited October 8, 2014 by Azalin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concertina22 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Hammer price including buyers commission adds up to a total price of 4,400 pounds or about 5,550 euro. The one listed in the add has an asking price of 6,000 euro. A difference of a little under 10 %. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian brown Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 (edited) Jeffries are unique in their sound and construction, not nearly as plentiful as Wheatstones or Lachenals, and the last really, really good ones were made 100 years ago. I've always found it fascinating that in the 1935 Vickers price list, the second-hand Jeffries are more expensive than most of the brand new anglos. For example, a 32 button Jeffries for sale at 11 pounds is more expensive than all but one of the new anglos advertised, is 4 pounds more expensive than a similar second-hand Shakespeare and almost twice the price of a Lachenal. Of course we don't know the condition of the individual instruments but it does give an idea of what they were already going for at that time. Adrian Edited October 8, 2014 by aybee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conzertino Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 I payed 20 Pound for my first 30 bone-button Jeffries in 1978 - but I sold it for 75 soon after ;-) I should have kept it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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