Roger Hare Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) I was in one of my local shops this morning, and as I happened to know the owner was musical, and I had 'tina with me, so I showed him the machine. Imagine my surprise when he produced from below the counter this Lachenal 30-buitton C/G instrument, Serial No. 97287. I happened to have my tablet with me so took a couple of quick snaps: It belonged to his mum, who had it from her Uncle Jim. He (the owner) had lent it to a friend who apparently hadn't played it but bought a cheaper instrument to learn on, so it probably hasn't been played seriously for years. I am guessing a date about 1900 (I haven't checked yet). Any opinions? It looks as if the (slightly battered) box is original. It has 5-fold bellows, which are leaking. I managed to get a tune out of it, but the action seemed stiff, and the sound was very weak, probably due to leaking bellows, lack of use and a reddish velvet baffle behind the fretted ends? One or two notes were 'intermittent' at best. I wonder if this is a project worth pursuing? I'm tempted to make him an offer, as long as it's not regarded as a 'family heirloom'. Any advice would be more than welcome. Thanks. Roger Edited January 16, 2015 by lachenal74693 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 I wonder if this is a project worth pursuing? I'm tempted to make him an offer, as long as it's not regarded as a 'family heirloom'. And if it is so regarded? Maybe he'd consider having it restored and learning to play it himself? I'm sure we all (including you) would be happy to advise him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartEstell Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 In playing condition, these Lachenals are perfectly good, serviceable boxes, with quite a distinctive tone, which I think of as "woody". I suppose there can't be any harm in asking him if he'd be interested in selling. If he is, then at that point you could ask to take the ends off and investigate the innards a bit more thoroughly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dowright Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Not much can be said for sure, other than it was made in about 1887. Reeds? most Anglos from this period had steel reeds but there were exceptions. Five or six fold bellows?. Each type was used for Anglos of this period. I am guessing that this one has 5-fold bellows (given the relatively cheap light-wood ends). Those uninitiated about Lachenal serial numbers might think the the exclamation point in your posting is a "1", leading them to an impossible serial number, higher than 900,000. Edited January 16, 2015 by Dowright Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 Maybe he'd consider having it restored and learning to play it himself? I'm sure we all (including you) would be happy to advise him. Yes indeed, that's what I said to him, and I gave him the name of our local restorer. I don't know what he thought about that - he is a piano and organ player himself. R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Personally I was never very keen on the Lachenal yellow-ended boxes. It me they always felt cheap and a bit nasty. Now the rosewood-ended anglos which were next up in their range, those I've always loved for their sweetness and clarity of tone. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malcolm clapp Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Just pondering those buttons; the tops appear to be a little more rounded than those usually found on concertinas from the 1880s. Wondering if there might be a 1 before the number you quoted in the OP, hidden under the fretwork to the left of the number. If so, 197287 would be of far later build, and not perhaps of the quality of those made earlier. Of course, I may be quite wrong; it has been known! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 Just pondering those buttons; the tops appear to be a little more rounded than those usually found on concertinas from the 1880s. Wondering if there might be a 1 before the number you quoted in the OP, hidden under the fretwork to the left of the number. If so, 197287 would be of far later build, and not perhaps of the quality of those made earlier. Of course, I may be quite wrong; it has been known! That's an interesting point. I will check. Thank you. R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d.elliott Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 A good proportion of instruments of this grade are actually brass reeded, not steel. If you took at the RH palm rest top where the hand rubs, if nothing is stamped on it, then it is most likely brass reeded, Or it may have 'STEEL REEDS' stamped on it; which is a very good clue. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 A good proportion of instruments of this grade are actually brass reeded, not steel. If you took at the RH palm rest top where the hand rubs, if nothing is stamped on it, then it is most likely brass reeded, Or it may have 'STEEL REEDS' stamped on it; which is a very good clue. This thread is helping me acquire some very useful 'general knowledge' about these older instruments. Thank you! Roger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Wondering if there might be a 1 before the number you quoted in the OP, hidden under the fretwork to the left of the number. If so, 197287 would be of far later build, and not perhaps of the quality of those made earlier. A good proportion of instruments of this grade are actually brass reeded, not steel. If you took at the RH palm rest top where the hand rubs, if nothing is stamped on it, then it is most likely brass reeded, Or it may have 'STEEL REEDS' stamped on it; which is a very good clue. Correct on both counts, as the pictures show. Not very clear I'm afraid, but clear enough. I just hope he now goes ahead and gets the thing restored, otherwise it's just going to sit on a shelf deteriorating. Thanks again for those useful suggestions. I'm learning a lot about concertinas on this site! Roger Edited January 21, 2015 by lachenal74693 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dowright Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Now that a serial number of 197287 is established, the concertina can be dated to 1926. I have a receipt for No. 196865, which shows that it was purchased on 9 January 1926 at a cost of 5.0.0 British pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Now that a serial number of 197287 is established, the concertina can be dated to 1926. I have a receipt for No. 196865, which shows that it was purchased on 9 January 1926 at a cost of 5.0.0 British pounds. That's extremely helpful. Thank you very much - I will pass that information on to David. I had 'guessed' by looking at the illustrations in the Lachenal catalogues on the Digital Concertina Archive, that the price was £4-7-0... Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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