A thought on concertina prices

[Yuxin Ding]

According to price quotes from many resources, vintage concertinas of equal quality, whether English or Anglo, asked for similar prices. Some of the Anglo were even more expensive than the English for those made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, regardless of the one-of-a-kind special models. In the promotional materials at the time, the price of the Anglo was usually lower than that of the English. I was once told that the Anglo concertina was a working class instrument, so I wonder if the price of the Anglo today is due to the poor living conditions of Victorian and Pre-war British workers, caused many Anglos to be damaged or even destroyed, which raised the price of those survived or refurbished.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Yuxin Ding

[Peter Laban]

It's a matter of demand, over the past twenty years or so the popularity of the concertina in Ireland has been steadily increasing.  Large numbers of young players in Ireland have taken up the instrument,  as well as many players of Irish music worldwide, creating a high demand for good quality  Anglo concertinas. There are now more players of the instrument than ever before in history and good vintage instruments are at a premium.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Peter Laban

[Paul_Hardy]

14 hours ago, Yuxin Ding said:

the price of the Anglo was usually lower than that of the English. I was once told that the Anglo concertina was a working class instrument,

I strongly suspect almost all the working class Anglos of the time were basic 20 button instruments, so had less than half the number of components of the 48-button English, and hence could be made considerably cheaper.

 

Now, most Anglo players want at least a 30 button instrument, if not 40, so the component cost now is much more similar to an English. Also some aspects of the Anglo are more expensive (e.g. bellows with several more folds).

 

However, as Peter says, supply and demand is a significant factor, and the overseas spread of Irish music has pulled Anglo prices with it.

 

Personally, I'm happy playing Irish music on an English concertina, so I think the Irish=Anglo is a bit over-hyped!

[Jim Besser]

1 hour ago, Paul_Hardy said:

Personally, I'm happy playing Irish music on an English concertina, so I think the Irish=Anglo is a bit over-hyped!

 

An interesting comment.

 

As an Anglo player who doesn't play Irish, I realized recently that the ITM players I like to listen to are mostly playing English concertinas.  Something about the way ITM on the Anglo has evolved does not attract me; the EC players I know who play Irish seem to focus more on the beauty of the melodies, less on extreme ornamentation and raw speed.

 

I know this is heresy, but there you have it.  I don't claim this as a universal truth, just one old guy's personal preference.

 

[Geoff Wooff]

Regarding  current  asking  prices  for  concertinas:

 

Another member  of  this  forum  , who  lives in  England,  suggested  to  me  that  prices of  vintage  Englishes  will  soon  drop  because  there are  so  few  young  people  taking  up  the  instrument.  If  that  is  the case  there  might   be  a  glut  in the market  as  many  older EC  players  reach  the  end of  their playing days.    Could  this  happen ?   Could it  include  the   vintage  Duets too ?

 

In  France  , where the  Accordion   is  still   popular  , although  nothing  like  as much  as it  was  up  until  the  1960's,  huge  numbers  of  decent   secondhand instruments  are offered  for sale  on  classified  websites.  One   site   has  private  adverts  for  about  6,500   accordions ! 

 

Of  course  this  has  happend    before. Interest in the  Concertina  waned  after  the   war  and  second hand  models  could  be  picked up  for a  song.

 

 

 

The  market  for  the  Anglo  appears  to  be  assured  by  the  huge  interest  shown  by  young  players in Ireland.

Edited November 22, 2022 by Geoff Wooff

[seanc]

In my experience… duets are WAY underpriced. Maybe with a few new Haydens being available this may start a very slow upward resurgence of other duets. But that could take years. If you were ever considering one… now is that time.

 

In comparison to Anglo.. English are way under priced/ appreciated. Geoff knows his stuff and I would not presume to dispute his knowledge. 
 

I would love to see ECs come down more.. I’d love to add an edeophone to the pile!
 

That said. My fear would be that IF ECs come down too much, then they will start being scrapped and stripped for their parts to salvage and repair anglos.

 

[richard]

16 hours ago, seanc said:

 

That said. My fear would be that IF ECs come down too much, then they will start being scrapped and stripped for their parts to salvage and repair anglos.

 

 

If you are implying what I am infering, Anglo players are not cannibals.

[wunks]

2 hours ago, richard said:

 

If you are implying what I am infering, Anglo players are not cannibals.

But the god Mammon is and will devour all else to reproduce.  The duets and now the Lachenals have become worth more for their parts than as playable instruments.

Edited November 26, 2022 by wunks