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56k Extended Treble Aeola For sale.


Geoff Wooff

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Due to  the  current  situation  it  does not look as though  our  dance band  will  be  having  any  outings  for  another year,  and  my  health  demands  a new  bicycle  so,  on the market  goes  my  spare  Treble  English.  Of  course, I  might  just  buy a Duet  with the funds  and  spend  even more time  sitting  on my  rear end !  Also  note my  post  in the  Ergonomics  section.

 

A  56k  Extended  Treble  Aeola  made in  1929,  recently  refurbished  with  a new  six fold  bellows  from  David  Robertson,  new  thumb straps  and other  renovations ,including tuning,  by myself.  I  have  not  replaced the  pads, valves  and  springs  or  re-finished the  ends  as  it  plays  perfectly  well like  this  and  shows  the  wrinkles  and scars of  90+  years of  music making. Tuned to  A440hz.  Equal Temperament.  I  am happy  to  tune  it  to  any  desired  temperament , at  extra  cost.

 

More pictures on request  or  see  the  listing on Facebook  'concertinas  for  sale.

 

Asking  €3200.  This price is  in Euros  and  equates to  about  £2600 sterling  or  $3600 USD.    Located in central  France.

 

 

 

 

 

It appears to  have  been owned  by  three  French   clowns , including, I  think,  Ramond  Devos ,  who  can  be  seen on youtube  playng it.   I  bought it  one year ago  from  the  last of  those clowns.

P1040118.JPG

Edited by Geoff Wooff
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Indeed, but those  cutouts  between the  buttons  appear  on plenty  of  Wheatstones  including the Amboyna  48 Treble  Chris Algar  has  for  sale  currently.  and  the  entry  in the ledgers  does  not  mention '81 fret'  for that one either.

 

I  wonder  if, at the point of  ordering  your  new  concertina,  you could  choose  a  fret  design  from a patern book ?

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Lovely looking instrument Geoff.....I  imagine that after all your fine tuning and fiddling it will play brilliantly!

 Arguably the best period for aeolas?

  Good luck with the sale.

Edited by scoopet
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21 hours ago, scoopet said:

Lovely looking instrument Geoff.....I  imagine that after all your fine tuning and fiddling it will play brilliantly!

 Arguably the best period for aeolas?

  Good luck with the sale.

Hi  Scoopet,

 

perhaps  many of us  have our  favourite  periods  of  concertina production.  In nearly  50 years  of  owning  Aeolas  I  have had  at  least  12,  but  the  three  that  stand out  as  the  best players  were all made in 1927.  The  second half of the  1920's  saw  Wheatstones  making  many  specials  and  instruments  made  using  fancy  materials.  Reading  through the  factory  ledgers  for  this period  is  a mouth watering  experience. 

 

By  the  beginning  of  the  1930's  economic  circumstances  and  the popularity  of  the  Italian  Accordion  called for  cost  cutting measures  which,  do  not  always  impact  on playability  and  this  particular Aeola  shows  only  the  very  smallest  of  changes ,  a simpler  ( faster  to  assemble)  rivetted  action.  All the  accoustic  qualities  of  the   second half  of the  1920's  are still present  and  I  doubt  anyone would  notice  the  slight  change to the action.  It  is  the concertina  I  have  chosen  all year  for  my  daily  practice  .

 

Edited by Geoff Wooff
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I  have  31518  currently  but  I  have  had  31536  and  31529. 

 

31536  was  my  first  fine  concertina,  restored  by  the  Crabbs  with  a  new  bellows  I  played it  for  12  years  before  running low on money  (  new  business  and small  children to  feed)  I  hope  whoever  has it  now  aprieciates  its  qualities.

 

31529  was  the  finest  concertina  I  have  ever  played.  Why  I    swapped it with  Dirge  I  cannot  imagine  though at  the  time  I  thought  he  deserved  it  and  would  publish  further  recordings  ..... still waiting.

 

Edited by Geoff Wooff
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On 11/26/2021 at 4:14 PM, Mike Acott said:

I agree that that 1927 was a very good year as I own 31657,31659 and my real favourite31660, all are real stunners.

Mike


Just curious:

in the ledgers you’ll find both Tortoiseshell and Shell, sometimes on the same page.

just two words for the same material or is there actually a difference? 🤔

Christian 

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On 11/27/2021 at 4:35 PM, Christian Husmann said:


Just curious:

in the ledgers you’ll find both Tortoiseshell and Shell, sometimes on the same page.

just two words for the same material or is there actually a difference? 🤔

Christian 

I  think  'Shell'  is  probably  a shortened  way  of  writing  Tortoiseshell... perhaps  the  writer  could  not  remember  how  to  spel  the word,  although it  is, of course possible  that  it  is  a code  for  real  or  faux .

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Hi Geoff,

a friend is looking for a concertina to progress for the Wheatstone tutor you sold me in 1976. Would it sound well with 28029 (which needs a minor retune of a couple of reeds but otherwise is playing well). Grqham and I are playing duets and a better instrument would be nice.

 

Regards,

Peter

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Hi Geoff,

a friend is looking for a concertina to progress for the Wheatstone tutor you sold me in 1976. Would it sound well with 29028 (which needs a minor retune of a couple of reeds but otherwise is playing well). Graham and I are playing duets and a better instrument would be nice.

 

Regards,

Peter

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Hi  Peter,

 

it  has  been a lot  of  years  since  29028  went  into your  hands  and  I  am  very  happy  that  you are  still enjoying it.  Indeed  the  one I am  selling  here  is  every  bit  as good  and  should  sound  wonderful  in duet  with  29028.

There is  however  a distinct  advantage  with  the one on sale  here, it  being  slightly  larger  and  with the  new  six fold  bellows  it  has  plenty  of  wind  for  big  chords.

 

I am  only selling  because  Carpal Tunnel Syndrome   is  limiting my playing  and  Covid  restrictions mean  there is  little hope  the  dance band  will  be    functioning  for   another year.

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 1/17/2022 at 9:44 AM, Konzertina-123 said:

Thank you. Do you know who were its previous owners, besides Raymond Devos ?

My instrument also comes from a French clown.

Yes,  but  I  have  forgotten.  I  have  the  name  written  down  somewhere  so,  when I  find it  I  will let you know.

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