David D Posted February 4 Posted February 4 Hi All, I have just started learning to play the concertina (at age 70+, having never played an instrument before) and am having great fun in the process. I have a Lachenal student concertina number 44323. It's an English concertina with 48 keys and it has a label " Lachenal & Co Patent Concertina Manufacturers, London." I'd love to know when it was made. It's in lovely condition and it came in (I presume) its original polished wooden carry box. Grateful for any help. Thank you very much in anticipation. David D.
wes williams Posted February 4 Posted February 4 Nice to hear you've taken up the concertina in your twilight years. We estimate your concertina as circa. 1905. A quick tip - if your box is the common format, and doesn't store your concertina in the way you hold it when playing, put it on it's side. This prevents the valves inside bending. You'll find the same advice all over these forums. Good luck!
d.elliott Posted February 9 Posted February 9 On 2/4/2025 at 11:45 AM, wes williams said: Nice to hear you've taken up the concertina in your twilight years. We estimate your concertina as circa. 1905. A quick tip - if your box is the common format, and doesn't store your concertina in the way you hold it when playing, put it on it's side. This prevents the valves inside bending. You'll find the same advice all over these forums. Good luck! Twilight years indeed! Half the age of concertinas we play!
4to5to6 Posted February 11 Posted February 11 (edited) I just purchased a Lachenal New Model extended treble 56B English with original functioning bowing valves from a local estate sale. It needs a bit of work but is in very nice condition over all and untouched… raised rosewood ends with a dark green bellows and the original baffles are even still there. Serial number is 27599. Using the regular Lachenal English formulae: 27599 - 6000 =21,599 divided by 840 = 25.7 plus 1858 = 1884. The bowing valve patent is dated 1885 so 1884 could be fairly close or it may be a bit newer than this… 1888? Can anyone help me with a more accurate date? Thanks. . Edited Friday at 10:42 PM by 4to5to6
wes williams Posted February 11 Posted February 11 I won't claim its more accurate than the formula you used, but our estimates in this thread are based on variable annual production, and our current estimate for English 27599 is circa 1887.
4to5to6 Posted February 11 Posted February 11 (edited) Very good. Thanks. I will go with c.1887. Much appreciated. . Edited Friday at 10:42 PM by 4to5to6
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