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DDF

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8 hours ago, Stephen Chambers said:

A concertina something-like this 1850's Klingenthal-made one (from my collection) perhaps? 

 

German10-keyrosewoodgrained.jpg

 

 

 

 

From what I can see in the photo (not a lot) it looks to be more square than yours, although much closer to yours than to a hexagonal one!

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1 hour ago, Clive Thorne said:

From what I can see in the photo (not a lot) it looks to be more square than yours, although much closer to yours than to a hexagonal one!

 

It's hard to be sure about anything because so much of the instrument is not visible but, the more I look at it, the more rectangular it looks. Anyway, all the early 4-sided ones I've seen (and I have about ten of them) have these same proportions - which were copied for the early Wheatstone "duetts".

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As much as we might disdain these inexpensive (i.e., cheap) instruments today, I marvel at how they made it possible for working class communities to make music. These instruments played an important role in enabling poor people to become musicians. We play their music on much better instruments, but the music might not have survived or been written were it not for these instruments.

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22 minutes ago, JimR said:

No one in the first photo seems to be playing, could this have been an advertisement?

 

In the 1850s photography was only in its infancy, and often treated as an art form, exposures were long so pictures were posed and subjects had to keep still throughout (but the two brothers lower right evidently moved!), so you don't get "action shots".

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5 hours ago, Chris Ghent said:

I have a Henry Harley here at the moment and it could be one of those. 

 

The first listing for Harley doesn't appear until 1874 Chris, and the earliest instruments he sold appear to have been made in Germany. I have one bearing the Harley stamp that has been identified by Dr. Maria Dunkel as being made by the German maker Ernst Bassler, of Grünberg, Saxony.

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On 10/14/2023 at 12:23 PM, Chris Ghent said:

I have a Henry Harley here at the moment and it could be one of those. Its a lovely player, beautiful tone. 

 

Henry Harley wasn't born until 1833, so the photo would probably be too early for it to be one of his instruments. 

Edited by sadbrewer
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