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Matusewitch builders


Ray Smith

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'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 by Geoff Wooff
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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.

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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!

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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 by Wolf Molkentin
adding: admittedly the shape would be sort of simplified, if at all indicating "Wheatstone"
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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.
"
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