Lachanel Concertina age

[Andrew MacG]

I have just acquired a twenty button Lachenal & Co concertina. It is labelled Steel Reeds and the serial No is 196122. It has a leaky bellows and one note always sounds, so it needs a bit of repair, as does its case, which has been forced open at some stage. I would be grateful for info on its Date of Manufacture. I have attached a photo. Is the woodwork rosewood?

 

[Stephen Chambers]

12 hours ago, Andrew MacG said:

I have just acquired a twenty button Lachenal & Co concertina. It is labelled Steel Reeds and the serial No is 196122.  ... I have attached a photo. Is the woodwork rosewood?

 

I have the receipt for number 196865, which is of the same model but with 30 keys, and was sold (new) for £5.0.0, on 9th January 1926. So yours must date from around 1925-26.

 

The external finish is rosewood veneer.

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2021 by Stephen Chambers

[Andrew MacG]

Hi Stephen, Thanks for your reply. From the serial numbers quoted in John Constable's thread, it looks like about 865 Lachenal concertinas were made each year between 1910 and 1926, so mine is probably about  eleven months older than yours, ie early 1925. One of the reeds always sounds and there are a few leaks in the bellows. I will purchase a copy of David Elliott's book before I take the ends off. It looks as though these posts should be in John Constable's thread - is there a moderator who could do this?

Best wishes and thanks

Andrew

[Stephen Chambers]

6 hours ago, Andrew MacG said:

Hi Stephen, Thanks for your reply. From the serial numbers quoted in John Constable's thread, it looks like about 865 Lachenal concertinas were made each year between 1910 and 1926, so mine is probably about  eleven months older than yours, ie early 1925.

 

You're fortunate that your one is numbered so close to that receipt, which is one of relatively few reference points in the ongoing compilation of the database, Andrew.

 

Only we've no way of knowing when any of them was actually completed, and no doubt it wasn't always in consecutive serial number order (whilst the extant Wheatstone ledgers sometimes reveal instruments that weren't finally completed until years/decades later than you might expect!), but we only have occasional dates of sale/purchase to go on.