Numbering On A Jeffries And Concertina Bands?

[Alex West]

I've taken this photograph of a Jeffries Bros Aflat/Eflat raised end 30 key old pitch which has the number 7.23 stamped next to the RH metal hand rest. Actually, I thought it was 7.2 until I took the hand rest off and found the full number.

 

The instrument went out to Australia in the 1920s and I was told that the original owner had it from new as a baby - not sure if I believe that.

 

Chris Timson has told me that one of his previous instruments had a No 2.23 in a similar place but the instrument key and style were quite different, however since that instrument came from a Liverpool concertina band, maybe this one has a similar background

 

Does anybody else have other clues or corroborating evidence to indicate whether this stamping indicates that teh instrument was part of a set - possibly from a concertina band? I wonder if we could trace the whole set!

 

Alex

[DerekR]

At the turn of the last centuary, Loyal Orange Lodge's were in abundance in Liverpool, many of them being headed up by their own Concertina Bands.

I was personally, a member of one of the largest concertina bands, which along with many have now become defunct.

 

I do recall one band in particular had those markings on their concertinas, as I belive the band bought the tina's, and the members were able to lease purchase them off the band at 0% interest.

 

Our band, named "The Ivy", had a similar purchasing scheme, but as I remember, the boxes were only ever recorded by description.

 

In the mid 1960's when I was inducted into the band as a new Anglo player, keen to learn, there were about 40 Concertina players in the band and about 12 percussion players. A big band that made a wonderful noise!

 

Each box player owned their own instruments (other band merely loaned the boxes out to members).

 

The marking you have shown in the image, I think belonged to a band called "The Derry Walls Concertina Band" who used to record all the instruments as they purchased them and sold them on to the members.

 

The markings certainly don't represent anything of "a set", they were just simply a method of recording each instrument.

 

As there were approximately 60 or 70 Concertina bands in Liverpool up till the end of the 60's early 70's, this may well have applied to many of the bands that no longer exist.

 

I would guess that over the years spanning Concertina Bands in Liverpool, there must have been many thousands of instruments of all makes and types pass through this city (There are still a small number of Concertina Bands playing in the city, but nothing like the numbers there were)

[Chris Timson]

Absolutely fascinating. Thank you very much. So we can say that my instrument belonged from new to a member of The Derry Walls Concertina Band, and was then purchased by the noted Lancashire anglo player Fred Kilroy. Then via Chris Algar and another member of this forum to me, and finally to yet another member of this forum, where it remains to this day.

 

It is unusual, and a little sad, that knowing this much of the past of a concertina is rare. It makes the instrument all the more special when you do so know.

 

Chris