102 Praed St. Paddington

[peterhurst]

Has anyone got or ever seen any photos of Charles Jeffries and his sons or photos of any of their premises ?

I have a picture of C Jeffries, playing in a band, hopefully will be in a book I am putting together.

[martyn]

Peter,

 

Would dearly love to see the picture of C.Jeffries playing in his band.

do you know what type of music they played, and what were the other instruments involved ?

It is very interesting to hear about your book. Is it just about Jeffries or concertinas in general ?

 

Thanks for answering,

Martyn.

[Paul Woloschuk]

I have before me a 38 button anglo with the C Jeffries, Maker, 23 Praed Street address in the oval, above which is the word 'LATE', and below the handrest is stamped "CJ. 12. ALDERSHOT ROAD KILBURN N.W.6"

 

I also have a Jeffries Brothers with the same Praed Street address.]

I'm a new member and have been searching this site for Jeffries Duet info.

I have a 51 key Jeffries Duet that I bought back in the 80s, not aware at the time what it was, but it was too good a price to let go. When I did find out, I was determined not to have it 'converted' but kept it as a duet. I play it occasionally for Morris, though not very well!

It has the same address as Malcolm's instrument in the oval (with 'Jeffries Bros Maker' but without the word 'LATE') and has 'C. J. NEW ADDRESS 12. ALDERSHOT ROAD KILBURN N.W.6' under the right handrest - although, on my instrument, it is poorly stamped as, rather curiously, the 'N' in NEW, KILBURN and N.W.6 is reversed!

 

Paul

Edited February 25, 2005 by wolosp

[wes williams]

It has the same address as Malcolm's instrument in the oval (with 'Jeffries Bros Maker' but without the word 'LATE') and has 'C. J. NEW ADDRESS 12. ALDERSHOT ROAD KILBURN N.W.6'  under the right handrest - although, on my instrument, it is poorly stamped as, rather curiously, the 'N' in NEW, KILBURN and N.W.6 is reversed!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Paul,

Jeffries Bros seem to have come into existance a bit before 1910, and as said earlier, CJ Kilburn stamps seem to date to the early/mid 1920s. The reversed 'N' seems to be quite common, and its been reported a few times in threads here.

[Paul Woloschuk]

Thanks for your reply Wes.

I initially thought that the Kilburn address was that of the box's owner, but a friend of mine (Dave Lee - possibly the originator of this thread?) told me of the relocation of Jeffries' workshop from Praed Street.

I must say, I have found this site very interesting. I never realised that my concertina was so sought-after (not that I will sell it!)....I really must play it more!

 

Paul

[Mark Stayton]

Wes,

 

I have a 31 key Jeffries anglo. It has 1890's fretwork, with "C. Jeffries Maker" stamped between the buttons. However, it also has "C.J. 12.ALDERSHOT.ROAD.KILBURN.N.W.6" (with backward N's) stamped beneath the handrest, in a different type face than the "Maker" stamp. Here are some scans of the right hand endplate:

 

Jeffries right hand plate - full view

 

Jeffries button stamping

 

Jeffries handrest stamping

 

Perhaps the instrument was returned to Jeffries for maintenance during the Aldershot era, but of course that's just speculation on my part. What do you make of the apparent 20 to 30 year discrepancy between the fretwork and the Aldershot Road stamp?

[Paul Woloschuk]

Hi Mark,

I believe that the Kilburn Road instruments were made using 'stock' end plates and simply re-stamped with the later workshop address...but I may be wrong.

 

Paul

[wes williams]

Perhaps the instrument was returned to Jeffries for maintenance during the Aldershot era, but of course that's just speculation on my part.  What do you make of the apparent 20 to 30 year discrepancy between the fretwork and the Aldershot Road stamp?

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I don't think it is speculation that this instrument passed through the hands of C Jeffries Junior! Other instruments have been reported where CJ Jnr made similar stampings.

 

The stamping between the buttons is typical of an Jeffries of the 1870/1890s. Later Jeffries/Jeffries Bros had the name in an oval, with the 23 Praed Street address. The fretwork is also of a finer cut than the later ones. So even if CJ Jnr did use 'old stock', its very unlikely (I'd say impossible) that this instrument was made in the 1920s in that way.

[Stephen Chambers]

I believe that the Kilburn Road instruments were made using 'stock' end plates and simply re-stamped with the later workshop address...but I may be wrong.

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Having seen maybe a dozen or so of these re-stamped Jeffries, and worked on several, I don't believe that any of them were made at Aldershot Road. The rest of the instrument has always been very much in keeping with the period of the endplates, and my conclusion was that they had been repaired, and/or sold second hand at the new address, which C. Jeffries jnr. had stamped on them by way of advertisement. I recall that at least one of them was a typical 1880's Anglo which evidently had later, Aldershot Road-period bellows.

[geoffwright]

My c/g metal ended anglo was recently overhauled by Colin Dipper and was described and stamped as a "jeffries". I showed it to Geoff Crabb who said, yes, the ends were "very probably" made by Crabb but on playing it, said the insides "definitely" came from Jeffries.

 

What makes a concertina - the outside or the inside?

 

Collectors (who gloat over them rather than play them) might say the outside.

[JimLucas]

What makes a concertina - the outside or the inside?

Collectors (who gloat over them rather than play them) might say the outside.

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And those who do both?

I can envision two unpleasant scenarios:

... They argue violently about it. (Not so bad if they don't do it in my presence.)

... Their "one of each" obsession now requires a Jeffries-Jeffries, a Crabb-Crabb, a Jeffries-Crabb, a Crabb-Jeffries, etc., etc.

[Shay Fogarty]

I recall that at least one of them was a typical 1880's Anglo which evidently had later, Aldershot Road-period bellows.

 

Stephen,

I think that was the one you sold to me back in 1983 in John McMahons house during the Flea Nua in Ennis. The tooling is the narrow Jeffries type used by Colin Dipper. This tina hs 34 ivory buttons incl a whistle and squeak on each end. The Kilburn address is stamped on the left hand between the buttons, with the backward N. Its my favourite C/G because of the nice tone. Do you agree that the ivory button Jeffries have a mellower tone? ( At the risk of staring a new thread)

Pic attached

[Stephen Chambers]

I recall that at least one of them was a typical 1880's Anglo which evidently had later, Aldershot Road-period bellows.

I think that was the one you sold to me back in 1983 in John McMahons house during the Flea Nua in Ennis. The tooling is the narrow Jeffries type used by Colin Dipper.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That could well be the one Shay.

 

Its my favourite C/G because of the nice tone. Do you agree that the ivory button Jeffries have a mellower tone?

Lacking any documentary evidence, it seems that the ivory-buttoned Jeffries instruments are older models, though they may have been a less expensive option at the time that the ones with the thin metal buttons were being made ?

 

They are lighter in weight because of the buttons (metal Jeffries buttons are solid, which adds a lot of weight) and usually have mahogany, rather than maple, interior woodwork. These factors seem to result in a different tone quality, which is less ringing.

 

(At the risk of staring a new thread)

Perish the thought !