Lachenal Anglos

[Stephen Chambers]

I'd been meaning to take some photos and post something before all the confusion started in the other thread, so I'll start a fresh one now.

 

Judging by their serial numbers, Lachenal's seem to have produced more than 200,000 Anglos, of which the vast majority of those made, and encountered by players today, have either solid mahogany spindle-cut ends, or laminated fretcut ends with a rosewood veneer, but other variants exist.

 

The mahogany model also features a deal action board, mild-steel bolts (though early versions had steel woodscrews, like German concertinas) to secure the ends, and a stapled action; economy features shared with the 2 guinea English system "People's concertina" that Louis Lachenal's widow Elizabeth introduced earlier in the same year (1862).

 

Louis Lachenal 20-key Anglo, #752, solid mahogany ends.

 

And like the "People's concertina", the mahogany Anglo was also made in a more expensive rosewood version with the same fret pattern. But apart from the rosewood-veneered maple sides and (usually) solid rosewood ends, it shared all the economy features of it's mahogany cousin (and hence the same weaknesses and drawbacks).

 

The version below has a slightly fuller fret design, though produced by using the same templates in a different layout.

 

Louis Lachenal 28-key Anglo, #5086, solid rosewood ends.

 

But there was also a fancier version of what might be termed "the mahogany model", with spindle-cut "full frets", which seems to have been made as a special finish for some dealer-labelled instruments (at least, I've never yet seen it on an instrument with a Lachenal label). This one is rosewood with a rebated edge and brass bolts, but the model was also produced without the rebate and with steel bolts, in either mahogany or rosewood.

 

Louis Lachenal 22-key Anglo labelled G. King, #5681, solid rosewood ends.

 

The familiar instrument that we think of as "the rosewood Anglo" was a slightly later, more expensive, development that Lachenal & Co. were still calling "the Newly-Improved Anglo-German" into the 1930s. The design in the ends was cut with a fretsaw, hence it could be fuller and more detailed, and laminated for strength, whilst the action board was maple, the pivots for the action slotted, the end bolts brass and it had an extra fold in the bellows. It's a nicer instrument altogether, and it was significantly more expensive.

 

It's hard to find a price list that shows the rosewood variant of the mahogany Anglo (and they are encountered much less often), but Henshaw & Loebell's list of c1895 includes both, with the options of either brass or steel reeds, as well as "the Newly-Improved" rosewood Anglo.

Edited October 20, 2006 by Stephen Chambers

[Stephen Chambers]

However, the terms "mahogany", "rosewood" and especially "ebony" are sometimes more indicative of "finish" or "grade" than any absolute indication of the material used.

 

For example in the early 1930s some "mahogany" instruments started to have ends made of plywood with an orange stain, like this 1947 30-key Wheatstone #51679:

 

 

And sometimes timber might be stained to a dark rosewood colour, or even faux wood-grained (very popular with our ancestors) like this 10-key German concertina from c1860:

 

 

Whilst "ebony" is hardly ever anything of the sort and (like many pre-war banjo fretboards, or violin fingerboards etc.) is more usually "ebonised" pearwood or maple.

 

I even have an early "top-of-the-range" 48-key English concertina by George Jones, 2, Lucas Place, #1181, with engraved silver finger plates and top screws, gold-tooled thumb straps and bellows frames, and even gold-tooled leather bellows "papers", in what seems to be a "faux amboyna" finish (the veneer looks more like birdseye maple with a dark orange stain):

 

 

So things are sometimes not what they seem ...

 

 

(Edited to add Jones photo.)

Edited October 19, 2006 by Stephen Chambers

[Paul Read]

Stephen, many thanks that is an excellent summary. One question; do you know whether Lachenal did the faux finishes on the ends? One more question; were the reeds on the 'improved' anglo supposed to be of a better quality than on the old 5-folds?

[Greg Jowaisas]

I would like to thank Stephen Chambers for his clear explanation of the different models of Lachenal anglos.Well done! As we have come to expect from one of our resident experts.

 

I would like to post some pictures of two Lachenals englishes that led me to state that I thought Lachenal sometimes used a graining/staining technique on some of their instruments. I welcome your comments and opinions. (I don't have a big "dog in this hunt" as far as ego; I'm more interested in discovery and possible truth.)

 

 

 

 

The first photo shows an end with a rich, thick finish that has been abused with scatches and apparently some green paint.

 

In the second photo I have removed some of the finish with sandpaper revealing a (Brazilian?) rosewood veneer and showing the heavy color/staining of the finish.

 

The third photo shows the result of applying a finish stripping agent.

 

As I began this examination I thought the finish would be a faux bois application on a lesser wood. To my surprise the underlying wood appears to be rosewood although not of top quality (Note the noticably lighter

streaks which I believe is a grain filler.) In defense of my initial faux bois assumption I will contend that there is some "grain enhancement". The grain pattern of the initial unstripped finish does not exactly match the pattern in the third photo. A heavy application of color and stain would also help flaws and filler in the veneer to disappear.

 

 

 

Here is another Lachenal english that came to me by way of an ebay auction. The first picture shows the left side with finger wear around the buttons but with finish apparently otherwise intact. The second photo shows the right side. Apparently this side was stripped and an attempt was made to apply a new finish. (The actual appearance is even lighter than the photo!) I am assuming that the factory would not have let this instrument leave unless the two ends more or less matched. To me it is an example of how much color and stain may have been used to match up ends.

 

So those are two examples of heavilly colored and stained finishes that may even have had some "grain enhancement". Some of the "rosewood" Lachenal anglos have a heavy opaque finish that reveals little if any graining. As Stephen Chambers noted the ends are usually three ply and cross grained for strength. Sometimes the end veneer is magnificently figured; sometimes the finish hides the grain entirely. Whether this was done intentionally or not I don't know. I do know that Lachenal made a lot of concertinas and some received more attention and care than others.

 

Regards,

 

Greg

 

PS. This was my first time posting pictures and I want to thank Paul Schwartz for setting up and maintaining this forum system which made it painless and easy even for a Luddite like me!

[Theo]

Here is another Lachenal english that came to me by way of an ebay auction. The first picture shows the left side with finger wear around the buttons but with finish apparently otherwise intact. The second photo shows the right side. Apparently this side was stripped and an attempt was made to apply a new finish. (The actual appearance is even lighter than the photo!) I am assuming that the factory would not have let this instrument leave unless the two ends more or less matched. To me it is an example of how much color and stain may have been used to match up ends.

 

Greg

 

Another possible explanation of the lighter end is that it has faded from exposure to light. I've seen one in similar condition where the original owner was not a player and for years kept the concertina on display in its box, but with the lid open. The result: one faded end, one nicely retaining its reddish colour.

[Stephen Chambers]

... Lachenal sometimes used a graining/staining technique on some of their instruments. I welcome your comments and opinions.

Greg,

 

They quite definitely and categorically did do so.

 

You only have to look underneath my Louis Lachenal 22-key Anglo #5681, labelled G. King, to see it very plainly demonstrated:

 

 

For though they gave it "up-market" rebated rosewood endplates, with brass bolts, they economised by making the sides out of solid mahogany that was stained and grained to look like rosewood. This is very evident where the finish has worn away on the corners, exposing the solid mahogany underneath.

[Stephen Chambers]

... were the reeds on the 'improved' anglo supposed to be of a better quality than on the old 5-folds?

Paul,

 

Of course the most basic of the spindle-cut fret models employed brass reeds, which were machine-made.

 

But, as Tommy Williams explained, the steel reeds were "reduced" (profiled) by hand; so the quality of them varied greatly, depending on the skill of the tuner. From what I have seen, I would suspect that they tended to employ the best tuners to make reeds for the higher grades of instruments.

 

Otherwise, I've seen some late cheap models with ferrous shoes, instead of brass.

Edited October 21, 2006 by Stephen Chambers

[Paul Read]

... Lachenal sometimes used a graining/staining technique on some of their instruments. I welcome your comments and opinions.

Greg,

 

They quite definitely and categorically did do so.

 

 

 

I suspect the silly boys may be due an apology?

Edited October 19, 2006 by Paul Read

[Greg Jowaisas]

No name calling now!

 

While feeling somewhat vindicated (not all my initial observations or comments were completely correct) I

look upon this whole series of posts as a learning opportunity.

 

I do feel a certain sense of loss however. Does this mean I have no longer made have the most "ridiculous" statement in the history of cnet? It is always a thrill to be at the top of "some" list.

 

As some compensation I am taking solice in the possiblity of starting a new band:

 

"Greg and the Silly Boys"

 

Or perhaps: "Dave and the Silly Boys". or "Frank and the Silly Boys" or "Paul and the Silly Boys".

Life is indeed too short and laced with enough absurdity that a little time should be devoted each day to laughing about it.

 

Yours truly while laughing and playing and repairing concertinas,

 

Greg

[Stephen Chambers]

... Lachenal sometimes used a graining/staining technique on some of their instruments.

Greg,

 

They quite definitely and categorically did do so.

Though the practice was by no means unique to Lachenal's, nor to English makers in general.

 

Many of the old cheaper German concertinas, accordions, guitars and mandolins that I have seen were stained or wood-grained, the painted "grain" on the post WW2 yellow or red models of Scholer concertinas being a vestige of this:

 

 

And even the French sometimes used it on cases, and cheap models of French accordeon (flutina) too, though I've only ever seen one example of the latter, which Pierre Monichon showed me.

 

Edited to add Scholer photo.

Edited October 22, 2006 by Stephen Chambers

[Larry Stout]

It wasn't just concertinas-- a colleague of mine bought a 37-room mansion which was built in the 1850's. Much of the elaborate woodwork in the house turned out to be hand grained to look like other woods. His wife (an art teacher in the junior high) did a lot of painstaking restoration work to the faux finish.

 

Back to the concertinas-- earlier in this thread someone noted that a lot of the "ebony" used on ends was in fact maple or pearwood (I think) which had been ebonized. I've seen pictures of concertinas with ebony ends (actual ebony) that have had fairly serious spliting problems. I've read that pearwood was prefered for lute tuning pegs (which are longer and thinner than the pegs on instruments in the violin family which are usually ebony or rosewood) becaues of better stability and resistance to splitting. Pear has very nice working properties and a tight , fine grain, though with little figure. Has it been used for concertina ends?

 

I would expect that some of the use of cross grain veneers, perhaps on the inside of the ends, might also make the fretwork in concertinas less liable to damage from splitting along the grain.

[PeterT]

"Greg and the Silly Boys"

 

Or perhaps: "Dave and the Silly Boys". or "Frank and the Silly Boys" or "Paul and the Silly Boys".

Life is indeed too short and laced with enough absurdity that a little time should be devoted each day to laughing about it.

Hi Greg,

 

Yes, life is too short, and I'm still wearing my "tin hat".

 

I'll point you to "one that I prepared earlier".

 

http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=4038

 

Regards,

Peter.

[Paul Read]

Yes, life is too short, and I'm still wearing my "tin hat".

 

I'll point you to "one that I prepared earlier".

 

http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=4038

 

Regards,

Peter.

 

I think this is what is great about this forum. As long as we focus on the issue and don't start getting personal or thin-skinned, we all end up with a better knowledge about this great instrument and its history (usually courtesy of Stephen! )