Alan Day Posted December 15, 2007 Author Posted December 15, 2007 Many thanks Stephen ,your computer skills far exceed mine. The Man being comforted by the girl ,(if nobody knows this play) are shipwrecked and the caption says "A ship in sight". I presume the seat he is sitting on was either on the island when they arrived or washed up with the concertina at high tide. As my wife tells me "It is only a story". Al
Stephen Chambers Posted December 15, 2007 Posted December 15, 2007 I presume the seat he is sitting on was either on the island when they arrived or washed up with the concertina at high tide.As my wife tells me "It is only a story". Al, Well it looks rather like a toy, or a "stage prop" concertina anyway, so maybe it's waterproof?
Boney Posted December 15, 2007 Posted December 15, 2007 Well it looks rather like a toy, or a "stage prop" concertina anyway, so maybe it's waterproof? The first play is The Admirable Crichton, by J. M. Barrie of "Peter Pan" fame. It's supposed to be an "island-made concertina," The fellow playing it is Lord Loam, whom we've seen before. "Gilligan's Island" circa 1900!
Stephen Chambers Posted December 15, 2007 Posted December 15, 2007 Well it looks rather like a toy, or a "stage prop" concertina anyway, so maybe it's waterproof? It's supposed to be an "island-made concertina," Of course! That would explain it...
Dan Worrall Posted December 15, 2007 Posted December 15, 2007 Well it looks rather like a toy, or a "stage prop" concertina anyway, so maybe it's waterproof? It's supposed to be an "island-made concertina," Of course! That would explain it... Wait a second, folks! Concertinas float after shipwrecks....the play is more true to life than it appears. A year or so I mentioned on this site a yarn Colin Dipper told...of a friend who had a fine concertina (Jeffries I think) that was picked up many decades earlier on the beach just after a shipwreck in the Channel Islands; it had belonged to one of the crew of the wrecked sailing ship, and is still being played today. In true and beloved Forum fashion, of course, no one believed it.... 'The glue would give in and sink it' etc etc. Ye of little faith. Well, check this one out....from the story of the Ellen Southard, which ran aground in 1875 on Tailor's Bank, off the Mersey. There was a scandal about this one, so the reporting went to quite some detail...which netted the concertina bit: The Ellen Southard was laden with timber, and much of the cargo had been washed up on Crosby beach. Men were employed to draw up and save the timber. It was valuable salvage, for a plank of deal brings money in the market. The labourers engaged in the work saw two bodies floating in the tide. They looked at them and would not wade into the water to recover them. The corpse of a drowned sailor is not a marketable commodity.... ...(A) hat, said to belong to the captain's wife, who was drowned by the capsizing of the lifeboat (sent to rescue the crew), has been picked up on the Crosby beach, together with a concertina, supposed to be the property of one of the crew of the Ellen Southard. (Irish Times, Oct 4, 1875). I wouldn't want to try it...but they float. BTW, yet another concertina at sea.... Cheers, Dan Wreck of the Ellen Southard lying on Crosby Sands, 13 Oct 1875 Painting by GS Waters
Stephen Chambers Posted December 16, 2007 Posted December 16, 2007 Wait a second, folks! Concertinas float after shipwrecks.... Well I'm not planning on putting it to the test, though I believe Dick Miles may have tried it once... (It sank!)
Alan Day Posted December 16, 2007 Author Posted December 16, 2007 Wait a second, folks! Concertinas float after shipwrecks.... Well I'm not planning on putting it to the test, though I believe Dick Miles may have tried it once... (It sank!) As did Dave Prebble's who found his Jeffries at the bottom of the Manchester Ship Canal. Al
Dan Worrall Posted December 16, 2007 Posted December 16, 2007 Wait a second, folks! Concertinas float after shipwrecks.... Well I'm not planning on putting it to the test, though I believe Dick Miles may have tried it once... (It sank!) As did Dave Prebble's who found his Jeffries at the bottom of the Manchester Ship Canal. Al Oh, dear! Perhaps he should have patched that set of leaky bellows before putting out in his skiff! Of course, the shipwrecked folks in the play had an inexpensive German built one (the sailor's typical choice)....20 bone buttons and wooden ends, not the weighty 46+ reeds and nickel-plated metal ended models some of youse play! Lightweight and floatable. Cheap too...I'm surprised they weren't issued as flotation devices. If I were more energetic with engineering calculations, I could figure out the displacement weight of the bellows air volume (a la 'Eureka, I have found it!), and figure out how heavy an instrument would need be before it would sink....but I think I'll just go with the old newspaper report. And amend my previous statement: Some of these float!
JimLucas Posted December 16, 2007 Posted December 16, 2007 ...'Eureka, I have found it! Eureka? I have also found it. It's in Califormia!
Alan Day Posted December 16, 2007 Author Posted December 16, 2007 Wait a second, folks! Concertinas float after shipwrecks.... Well I'm not planning on putting it to the test, though I believe Dick Miles may have tried it once... (It sank!) As did Dave Prebble's who found his Jeffries at the bottom of the Manchester Ship Canal. Al Oh, dear! Perhaps he should have patched that set of leaky bellows before putting out in his skiff! Of course, the shipwrecked folks in the play had an inexpensive German built one (the sailor's typical choice)....20 bone buttons and wooden ends, not the weighty 46+ reeds and nickel-plated metal ended models some of youse play! Lightweight and floatable. Cheap too...I'm surprised they weren't issued as flotation devices. If I were more energetic with engineering calculations, I could figure out the displacement weight of the bellows air volume (a la 'Eureka, I have found it!), and figure out how heavy an instrument would need be before it would sink....but I think I'll just go with the old newspaper report. And amend my previous statement: Some of these float! Do you have to take into consideration whether the bellows were open or closed at the time the ship went down? Al
Stephen Chambers Posted December 16, 2007 Posted December 16, 2007 Cheap too...I'm surprised they weren't issued as flotation devices. Like this one perhaps? Waschica German concertina Though it was actually intended to keep water in, not out, for washing your "smalls"...
Alan Day Posted December 16, 2007 Author Posted December 16, 2007 This concertina,I am reliably informed ,was designed for playing on the Titanic. Al
Stephen Chambers Posted December 17, 2007 Posted December 17, 2007 This concertina,I am reliably informed ,was designed for playing on the Titanic. Weren't they going to issue one to every passenger, but they got left behind on Queenstown Quay?
Alan Day Posted December 17, 2007 Author Posted December 17, 2007 This concertina,I am reliably informed ,was designed for playing on the Titanic. Weren't they going to issue one to every passenger, but they got left behind on Queenstown Quay? It is a shame Stephen they were especially made for this first trip and designed by the same designer employed on the Titanic.The bellows were constructed with four separate air chambers so that if one filled up with water then the remaining three would still hold air.These were later found to be faulty as the designer failed to take into consideration the water that would flow in through the reeds. No doubt Stephen you have the Patent information on this. The concertinas were not wasted however and suitable Garden Gnomes were produced to go with these and many can be seen to this day playing with their instrument in the garden next to a similar matching one with a fishing rod. Al
Dan Worrall Posted December 17, 2007 Posted December 17, 2007 Cheap too...I'm surprised they weren't issued as flotation devices. Like this one perhaps? Waschica German concertina Though it was actually intended to keep water in, not out, for washing your "smalls"... Stephen has been at it again, collecting concertinas once owned by famous players. The eBay ad on this one mentioned that it was played by Ariel in the opening scene of the Little Mermaid....
Greg Jowaisas Posted December 17, 2007 Posted December 17, 2007 It is a shame Stephen they were especially made for this first trip and designed by the same designer employed on the Titanic.The bellows were constructed with four separate air chambers so that if one filled up with water then the remaining three would still hold air.These were later found to be faulty as the designer failed to take into consideration the water that would flow in through the reeds. Or was the culprit class distinction? I understand the concertinas were due for a retrofit during the trip but the rich musselled in and ate the bivalves intended to seal the reed chambers! The rest is history. Greg
Alan Day Posted December 17, 2007 Author Posted December 17, 2007 I understand Dan that Ariel sold this some time ago as the sound was a bit damped down for her liking. Al
Stephen Chambers Posted December 17, 2007 Posted December 17, 2007 (edited) Waschica German concertina Though it was actually intended ... for washing your "smalls"... Stephen has been at it again, collecting concertinas once owned by famous players. The eBay ad on this one mentioned that it was played by Ariel ... I understand Dan that Ariel sold this some time ago as the sound was a bit damped down for her liking. And I thought it had belonged to the English composer Henry Persil... Edited December 18, 2007 by Stephen Chambers
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now