Ray Smith Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 Is it possible to trace the factory where a Matusewitch branded English Concertina was made? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 (edited) 'bout time you showed up Ray! Welcome to C.net... where we look forward to your input, as it will be nice to have a new voice here . This forum is not as lively as it once was, but that appears to be the way of many forums currently. That Matusewitch will probably be a 'Wheatstone' made during the Boosey & Hawkes period.... but someone will know by the serial number, but the case looks to be from Harry Crabb's shop so it could be one of theirs too. Edited June 2, 2018 by Geoff Wooff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 On 6/1/2018 at 1:53 PM, Ray Smith said: Is it possible to trace the factory where a Matusewitch branded English Concertina was made? Some were made by Wheatstone, others by Crabb. I think Matusewitch went with Crabb after the Boosey & Hawkes takeover of Wheatstone. I do remember Boris telling me that he insisted on brass reed frames... no aluminum! Regarding the maker of a particular instrument, I would expect that that could be determined from the serial number, since I doubt that Wheatstone and Crabb had similar numbers in a given period. And one could also check a particular serial number against the Wheatstone ledgers, and similarly ask Geoff Crabb to look for a match in his records. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Smith Posted June 3, 2018 Author Share Posted June 3, 2018 The serial number on the instrument is 0127. The ends are made of plastic! (shock, horror etc.) but it still sounds pretty good. It's more strident that my old Lachenal and has a very tight and "positive" feel to it. I borrowed a Crabb for a while some years ago and it "feels" like that instrument did, but I also played a relatively new Wheatstone recently and it also reminded me of that instrument. I've only ever owned older concertinas and playing the new ones is a bit of a shock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Smith Posted June 3, 2018 Author Share Posted June 3, 2018 I don't know if this will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 not sure about Crabb, but this has the shape of a Wheatstone badge of that period Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Smith Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 I have written to Wheatstone to see if they can tell me anything. When you say, "that period" Wolf Molkentin, what dates are you referring to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) Hi Ray, I'd been just vaguely referring to "late" or "post-war" Wheatstones, like the Amboyna instrument in this thread f.i. - the badge is different from the "classic" one we are familiar with from our early or "golden era" Wheatstone concertinas and Aeolas. I was expecting others with more expertise in this field to chime in, but anyway, this is what I can tell you... Best wishes - Wolf Edited June 4, 2018 by Wolf Molkentin adding: admittedly the shape would be sort of simplified, if at all indicating "Wheatstone" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Smith Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 Thanks Wolf, I appreciate your help. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Smith Posted June 5, 2018 Author Share Posted June 5, 2018 This from Wheatstone: "Ray Wheatstone made instruments for Boris Matusewitch in the 60s and early 70s under a Matusewitch label. They were made at Boosey & Hawkes’ Edgeware factory in London. Most of their English Concertina production went to him in New York. Most of the Anglo production went to Goode Durrant & Murray in South Africa. All instruments made by me are numbered 60000+. Best Regards Steve Dickinson C. Wheatstone & Co." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Smith Posted June 14, 2018 Author Share Posted June 14, 2018 It was nice to get a reply from Wheatstone but I'm still no nearer to determining whether it came from their factory or from that of Crabb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 possibly @Geoffrey Crabb can be of help 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Smith Posted August 30, 2018 Author Share Posted August 30, 2018 (edited) I'm told that only Crabb produced instruments with plastic ends such as the one photographed. Is it that true? @Geoffrey Crabb Edited September 18, 2018 by Ray Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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