What is the most unusual concertina you have come across?

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

I once saw in town [York] many years ago; a man playing very rapidly in a square,  in town, a small concertina which had only ONE ROW OF BUTTONS! I was intrigued and saw him couple of times more [at that time].  It seemed most unusual one  I have seen at  that time anyway!  Anyone else recount the most unusual instrument they have come across? [or perhaps they now own such a musical beauty?]..

[Takayuki YAGI]

Anthony James makes one row miniature.

http://www.apjmusic.co.uk/apj_miniature_anglo.htm

 

And Bob Tedrow used to make similer one.

http://hmi.homewood.net/mini/

 

Not an one row but Andrew Norman also makes miniatures. (one row plus extra buttons, I own one)

 

John Connor used to make one low (not miniature) concertina. (I do not own, photo is from past ebay)

 

For various miniatures, article in the PICA vol.9 will be a good reference.

https://concertina.org/2014/10/01/pica-volume-9-2012/

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Thanks for adding to my topic of 'unusual' instruments.. 

The photos of 1 row type concertinas look absolutely fascinating to me. So intriguing to see that layout of buttons; you almost feel you want to add more somehow. That's the thing about free Reed instruments; there is such a variety of types being made 

[Stephen Chambers]

The German concertina started off with only one row of keys (like the early accordions that, the inventor, Carl Friedrich Uhlig was seeking to improve upon) and I have half-a-dozen, or more, of those (from the 1840s, '50s. '60s) in my research collection - like this one that was made in Klingenthal in the 1850s:

 

[Howard Mitchell]

I had the pleasure (?) of deconstructing the blue meanie  (Scroll down a bit from this link.) to find out how it worked, fix a few reeds back in place and seal some joints to make it playable. 

 

[Richard Mellish]

I can't see anyone coming up with a concertina more unusual than the blue meanie. The best I can offer is the one I bought in 2020:

 

[Gregor Markič]

In this forum I bought my beloved MELODINA. I believe it deserves to be classified as a "special" piece. I held in my hands different instruments and then sold them. When I first put my hands on this one, I knew immediately it stays with me until the day I die.

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Gregor Markič

[Stephen Chambers]

I raise you my "Australian" Kalbe, that I got from Tasmania (if I remember rightly) - seen here on display at the OaC in Miltown Malbay, because that's the only photo that I have of it:

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Stephen Chambers

[Robin Harrison]

I think this would count !

           A double-reeded English concertina...........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S95GjBQkS7w&ab_channel=RobinHarrison

[Leonard]

11 minutes ago, Robin Harrison said:

I think this would count !

           A double-reeded English concertina...........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S95GjBQkS7w&ab_channel=RobinHarrison

Robin, your link doesn't work.

This is what you mean:

 

[d.elliott]

I call you Stephen, with a 72K English bass, the action is Chidley, with the split reversed hook pivot post and a wire cross pin acting as trunnions  on the 'fish bellied' arm. the serial is 4976 the thumbs straps and the finger slides were over 3 inches wide. I ended up doing a full restoration back in 2014. However the actual  manufacturer??

 

 

[David Barnert]

5 hours ago, Leonard said:

Robin, your link doesn't work.

This is what you mean:

 

 

I was about to ask about the story behind Robin’s instrument (I thought I could make out the name “Crabb” etched on the label) when I found this on the youtube page, posted 2 years ago by Rex Dunham:

 

Quote

It was good to see the Red double reed Crabb again. Henry Crabb made three double reed concertinas for my father. The first was with standard black bellows ad had each reed in it’s own separate chamber. That was made, we think, in 1962. The second one he made was about a year later and was the red one seen here. The difference was that each ‘pair’ of reeds was in a separate chamber. I reluctantly sold this instrument in about 2004/5. The third one we had made was no more than a year after the red one and was a 48 key baritone, again with the reeds pair in their own chamber and finished in light blue. They were lovely instuments. I still have the first one.

 

Edited January 16, 2022 by David Barnert
typo

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Wow! What a lot of fascinating things I have learned, and seen, since I set the topic of 'unusual instruments'! Those vintage one row types, and the Kligenthal wooden cased one row type looks really unusual. There's so many varieties !

And they're all so inviting you just want try all of them out!

[John Wild]

I believe an identical one except with blue instead of red is in the hands of Dave Townsend.

[Takayuki YAGI]

37 minutes ago, John Wild said:

I believe an identical one except with blue instead of red is in the hands of Dave Townsend.

Then where is the white one now ? (Just curious.)

In the past description for the red one in ebay, the seller said:

 

" It was made for a family who had a red one, a blue one and a white one, to play as a trio. It must have been an amazing sound to have three of these playing together.

The family played these three at the Albert Hall. "

 

 

[David Barnert]

35 minutes ago, Takayuki YAGI said:

Then where is the white one now ? (Just curious.)

In the past description for the red one in ebay, the seller said:

 

" It was made for a family who had a red one, a blue one and a white one, to play as a trio. It must have been an amazing sound to have three of these playing together.

The family played these three at the Albert Hall. "

 

Could it be a different red one? According to the quote I provided above, Robin’s red one was made for Rex Dunham’s father, who also had a black one and a light blue one, made at different times. Perhaps the family in this quote had an altogether different trio of instruments, red, white, and blue.

[Stephen Chambers]

Then there's the reversible, house -shaped, F/C & G/D double keyboard, "push-me-pull-you"

 

[gcoover]

How about this bizarre hybrid from the Ozarks?

 

By the time a friend told me about it, it was already sold, but hopefully it will resurface one of these days...

 

Gary

Edited January 17, 2022 by gcoover