Who Was J. C. Trout? Lachenal Employee Or Repairman?

[paperpunchr]

I've recently bought an old 20 button Lachenal Anglo, serial 85612, that has a J. Wallis, 135 Euston Road label (and I've seen references that they became Wallis and Son in 1887) with an 1886 date written inside and a couple of signatures inside from one J.C.Trout, which doesn't look like repairman's mark...

 

I'm only guessing, but it's writ large with pride, as a builder would do, not small like a repairman who would have replaced a couple of flapper valves...and there are no other visible inside repairs. The pads and most valves all appear to match each other and are all about the same apparent age.

 

Anyone else have a signature inside from this gent, or who might confirm that he was a builder or employee for Lachenal?

 

Doug

[David Helmore]

Hi Doug!

 

Think this was on ebay - I was watching it! Have you tried looking up JC Trout on the 1881 census? It's quite an unusual surname so you might get lucky! If you do find them, it should list their occupation and you may be able to link it from there!

 

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

 

Dave

[paperpunchr]

Hi Doug!

 

Think this was on ebay - I was watching it! Have you tried looking up JC Trout on the 1881 census? It's quite an unusual surname so you might get lucky! If you do find them, it should list their occupation and you may be able to link it from there!

 

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

 

Dave

 

No Joy, no combination of J C Trouts listed in the London area except for a plumbers laborer and a dockyard worker, and a master mariner...in either 1881 or 1891 census.

...good thought, though...thanks!

[Stephen Chambers]

Have you tried looking up JC Trout on the 1881 census? It's quite an unusual surname so you might get lucky! If you do find them, it should list their occupation and you may be able to link it from there!

No Joy, no combination of J C Trouts listed in the London area except for a plumbers laborer and a dockyard worker, and a master mariner...in either 1881 or 1891 census.

Doug,

 

And quite likely he was one of those that you found (maybe it belonged to the "master mariner"!!! ). Names written inside concertinas are most commonly those of the owner, for obvious identification purposes. Even the very first concertina (my avatar) has the name of the original owner (an army officer) stamped into the wood of the case.

 

Otherwise they may the names of repairers, not necessarily professional ones, who wanted to "leave their mark".

 

However, I wouldn't expect a Lachenal employee to leave his name as "maker" because the firm used mass-production methods whereby the various components of the instrument were produced by different people and the instruments were never the work of one individual.

[paperpunchr]

Doug,

 

And quite likely he was one of those that you found (maybe it belonged to the "master mariner"!!! ). Names written inside concertinas are most commonly those of the owner, for obvious identification purposes. Even the very first concertina (my avatar) has the name of the original owner (an army officer) stamped into the wood of the case.

 

Otherwise they may the names of repairers, not necessarily professional ones, who wanted to "leave their mark".

 

However, I wouldn't expect a Lachenal employee to leave his name as "maker" because the firm used mass-production methods whereby the various components of the instrument were produced by different people and the instruments were never the work of one individual.

 

 

Whomever he was, Next time I'm in the pub I'll hoist a pint in his memory and play his concertina!

 

Doug