FS: Mini 16 button C/G concertina by Dave Leggett, restored by Greg Jowaisas

[Geraghty]

This was posted for sale last year and was taken down due to a pending potential trade, but the trade fell through and I never relisted it.

For sale in Oregon USA.  I purchased this mini concertina from Chris Algar of Barleycorn Concertinas in February 2021.  It was made by David Leggett in England, a player and silversmith who made a few small concertinas before his passing.  This one is about 4 inches across the ends. It has 16 buttons and contains the complete G row for a normal C/G Anglo plus half the C row and an F/C# button on the right hand side which enables playing in D.  Based on the labels I believe it was made in 2009. It comes with a custom hard case.

 

 

Chris Algar's description is as follows:  "It is unique - there is no other one made with this configuration in the World. It is a cut down C/G 20 key with the whole G row and bits of the C row+ an accidental. Like all miniatures its weakness is the size of the bellows which make it quite hard to play anything other than single note tunes as there is so little air that holding notes is hard. You can just about play a tune with an odd chord but the bellows wobble a bit and you have to develop a technique. Having said that - I just sold a genuine Wheatstone miniature and that was smaller - but way higher in pitch and you could only just manage a single note tune. This is way, way more useful.  It was made by an amateur concertina maker who was a skilled silversmith so it is quite a decent instrument."

 

It was worked on by Greg Jowaisas in July 2022.  He repaired all identifiable mini-leaks in the bellows, replaced some valves, replaced four of the original reeds, and tuned the instrument.  Leggett was not a professional concertina maker, though his work is well regarded by those who I have talked to about him.  This tiny concertina was surely a challenge to make.  After his work on it, Greg stated "I believe [David] selected Lachenal reed frames to match the available space in this smaller concertina.  The cramped quarters made it necessary to select shorter frames from higher pitched reeds.  Then he made (poorly in a number of cases) thicker tongues that would sound a lower pitch than what was originally in the frames.  A clever reed maker could, through trial and error, come up with a shorter reed that would sound the lower pitch and still react and respond as a good concertina reed." 

 

Greg replaced and reset four of the reeds from his supply of parts that would fit the smaller space available.  His post-work summary stated: "Please understand that even with my careful work this instrument has a number of built in limitations.  One is not going to confuse it with even a better Lachenal semi-miniature instrument, but... I believe where we presently stand with the bellows patched, the best of Leggett's reeds properly set, and his 4 worst responding ones replaced, is an instrument that is very playable and only in need of fine tuning." We did go ahead with the fine tuning.  The final comment before completing the transaction was "I spent some extra time making sure everything was working as well as I could make it (given the instrument and its limitations).  I'm confident you will notice a marked difference particularly in the air supply and to a degree in the response."

 

If you have particularly large hands you may have difficulty with the strap size, but they could be changed out for larger ones.  Please note that one of the handstrap bolt nuts needs replacing as the nut is stripped.  Greg discovered this and taped it in place for the repair work.  I haven't gotten around to sourcing a replacement yet since the tape is working well.  It's shown in one of the photos.

 

Is this mini comparable with those from high end makers like Dipper?  Of course not, not even close.  Is it capable of keeping up in a session?  Likely, depending on your skill and whether your playing style requires a lot of air or not.  The reed response time is very good for most reeds and slightly slower for some of the left hand ones.  Playing without chords and/or playing reasonably fast to conserve air is your best bet.  Is it fun, unique, and a conversation piece?  Absolutely.  Barleycorn had never seen another one like it.

 

I am asking $3,750 plus insured shipping from Eugene, Oregon and the usual Cnet donation will apply.  I can also meet within an hour's drive of Eugene, or in Portland for a delivery gas/time fee.  I am happy to send additional photos or a video, or hold a Zoom demo/Q&A. Feel free to ask me questions!