Help Identifying My Concertina

[Linda G]

I inherited a beautiful concertina from my father but really have no history on it except that he used to play when we were children.  I would love to see fi  can find out more about it.  The logo on it appears to be a globe with two eagles?  It is octagonal with gold facings and trim with leather straps and 10 buttons on wither side.  I can try to send more pictures if needed.  It is in excellent condition and although I don't know how to play it it sounds good to me!  Thank you for any assistance you can provide. 

[Bill N]

It's a "Scholer" brand concertina, made in East Germany.  If you do a search of the forum you'll find lots of threads about them.  I can't remember the exact dates, but they were in business from the 1940s until shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall.  I've seen lots of Scholers, but never one with pierced metal ends like this.  It also looks to be in remarkable condition.  They don't have a great monetary value, but can be a lot of fun to play.

[Linda G]

Thank you so much, Bill!  I really appreciate the information and I will do further searching as well. 

[Stephen Chambers]

9 hours ago, Bill N said:

It's a "Scholer" brand concertina, made in East Germany. 

 

'Fraid not Bill N (though it was made in East Germany), it's an "Araldo" - made by J. C. Herold und Söhne, of Georgenthal (Klingenthal), Saxony, who were trading from 1836 right up until 1970.

 

There's a, very clean, badged one like it on eBay at the moment.

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Stephen Chambers

[Linda G]

Hi Stephen, I took a look at the Araldo one on ebay but the logo seems to be very different from mine although the rest of the instrument looks quite similar to mine.

[Bill N]

Ha!  I stand corrected.  The "birds and planet" badges on each brand are so similar I was fooled.  The metal ends on the Araido are pretty cool.  How do the two brands compare quality wise Stephen?

 

[Stephen Chambers]

11 hours ago, Linda G said:

Hi Stephen, I took a look at the Araldo one on ebay but the logo seems to be very different from mine although the rest of the instrument looks quite similar to mine.

 

Hi Linda, the badge on the left-hand side looks the same to me, only the light is different. But anyway, it would not be unusual for there to be differences from batch to batch of instruments - depending on the availability of parts/materials.

 

I'm retired now, but I used to have direct dealings with factories in the Klingenthal region, and visited there several times. They'd make them for you with the factory name, or no name, or your name (if you ordered enough of them!)

 

Here's another thread about one of these Araldos, from 20 years ago: 

 

[Stephen Chambers]

Here are photos of another Araldo:

 

https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/1384761269/antique-araldo-concertina-accordion?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details

[Linda G]

Hi Stephen,

Oh, I see now!  Thank you so much!  I found some words in white on one of the end where the leather straps attach.  Can't quite make out what it says but will see what I can do.  My father was in Stuttgart, Germany in the nmid-50s but I  don't know if he got it there or not.  Any idea on a value of my  instrument?

 

Thank you so much for your help,

Linda

[Stephen Chambers]

16 minutes ago, Linda G said:

My father was in Stuttgart, Germany in the nmid-50s but I  don't know if he got it there or not. 

 

That sounds a very possible date for it, so I'd suspect he probably did.

 

Quote

Any idea on a value of my  instrument?

 

Well that one on eBay has been listed at £90.00 for a while, and nobody has bid on it, but here's a listing for one that sold in the U.S.A. - https://reverb.com/item/2109106-antique-araldo-concertina

[Linda G]

Super!  Thank you again.  This is has all been so helpful and enlightening.