Becky Nankivell Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 (edited) Well, the concertina that inspired the cake (click) now has a sibling in the house: a 56-key tenor-treble Aeola. It's 8-sided, and has raised tortoiseshell ends, with gold-plated buttons and pinky props. Pics are up at Flickr, here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7182565@N05/s...57615595330586/ Questions: 1) Is there any reason that I shouldn't believe that this is the concertina with serial no. 31649 shown at the bottom of this Wheatstone ledger page ("August 2, 1928 Shell, octo, 56 keys, gold fittings")? http://www.horniman.info/DKNSARC/SD02/PAGES/D2P0760S.HTM I was told there was some confusion and overlap in the numbering and that the concertina might be more recent, but I haven't seen anything myself about problems with this number, and the notes in the ledger appear to match the instrument. Also, the sound and quality of the instrument is comparable to my other concertina, which is (by all appearances) a 1924 instrument (thus the cake in 2004). 2) The tortoiseshell isn't really tortoiseshell, right? 3) It's in very good shape, I'd say, for its age. There's some chipping of the "tortoiseshell", mostly on the sides, but there are only cracks and no holes in the fretwork (so to speak). Is there anything I should know about care of this material, other than avoiding radical temperature changes and not banging it about? 4) In the pictures of the reedpan, you can see that the valves for the highest reeds do not entirely cover the holes. Is this something that needs repair? 5) Any thoughts on replacing the wrist straps? Are there Wheatstone replacements available? One of them has some leather spliced on the end from having broken. For my other EC, the Button Box folks were able to put lovely new Wheatstone thumbstraps on... 6) There's some wear on the bellows; it looks like a previous user (who had much larger hands than me) used to play standing up and rubbed the bellows on his belly. This is visible in the first two bellows pictures. Does it look like that may be patched, rather than doing a wholesale replacement? Otherwise, the bellows are beautiful... The leakage is not awful, but it's more of an issue with the low notes, which need more air, of course -- and the low notes is what I got this for. 7) Any thoughts on cleaning the brass (of the labels and the thumb and wrist strap screws)? 8) Any thoughts on cleaning dust from the interior, and the slight green fuzz of oxidation on the brass of the reed holders? (I think I'll post a cross-ref in the "Repair" forum...) Misc other notes: - Of the leather gaskets on the reed chambers, all but one piece is there (one of the small bits at an end of one of the high reeds on the left side -- so not pictured). However, some of it is loose and will need re-gluing. - It seems to me that the quality of the tone is more uniform throughout this instrument than my tenor. The high notes are not as piercing, I think I'll get more use out of them. And, I believe that on the other instrument the lowest notes are more rumbly and somewhat different than the midrange. I wonder if it's the overall bigger size that makes the difference with this instrument. - It's great to have the case cover for this instrument. My tenor has its original leather-covered box, but it's pretty worn (and has no latch). I carry it in another bag, but need to make a proper cover, because the canvas bag is putting some wear on it. This one's cover is worn through on the top corners, and the zipper is defunct, so I'll have to decide whether to patch it, or make a cover for the cover! Any other insights or comments will be greatly appreciated. ~ Becky in Tucson Edited March 19, 2009 by Becky Nankivell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becky Nankivell Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share Posted March 19, 2009 Hmm. Meant to post that to the History forum... can it be moved?? ~ Becky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Coles Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Moved to History forum. I won't attempt to fix the titles and links, the persistent will eventually get here. How's the dancing in Tucson, Becky? Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becky Nankivell Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share Posted March 19, 2009 Thanks, Ken. Tucson dancing is going fine. I'm now part-time over in the L.A. area and struggling to find time in the back and forth schedule to get some dancing in... I'm playing the instruments a bit more, though! ~ Becky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becky Nankivell Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share Posted March 19, 2009 The other bit of info that I forgot to include is the range: the lowest note is C, an octave below the low C of my treble; the highest note is also C, four octaves above the lowest (the same high note as my treble). ~ Becky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Harrison Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 HiBecky.............It's a lovely concertina you have there ! 1....no reason at all to disbelieve the ledgers. 2....It IS tortoiseshell. Makes you wince doesn't it. Remember too, that it is thus covered by the CITES agreement ( Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species, as is ivory ) if you leave and go abroad with it. I wouldn't worry toomuch about that , just called it perloid ! 3....Care..........temperature sure, but humidity is usually more of an issue for old furniture, instruments etc. Keep it well humid as you would your other concertinas. I try to keep mine at 45 % or so. 4....Seems that the tiny reeds often don't have any valves at all. 5....I don't think Steve Dickinson makes wrist straps with the name on . I could be wrong. I'd just do a little reno to the exicsting original ones. 6....If the instrument is tight, I'd leave the bellows alone. You could have a new "top run" put on but why bother.If the appearance troubles you. just stain the worn areas. 7.....Labels...just gently to be careful of the ends 8....Dust, use a stiffish paint brush....reeds frames same but make sure nothing gets in between tongue and the frame.........but it's not a real problem anyway. This is how I see things for your concertina. Lucky you !! Robin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiton1 Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 A great instrument; makes my mouth water and my fingers ache! Definitively tortoiseshell. Lovely material. As I used to be an antique dealer I had and sold lots of tortoiseshell boxes. Just stored them not to dry, out of the sun in the dark. Just a tiny film of olive oil did them some good. I tried an instrument exactly like yours in England once, and just had to use all my willpower to hand it back to its owner. Well well, you lucky b........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikea Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Hello, for the records I own Aeola 31660 48 key lightweight baritone tortoiseshell ends. I hope you enjoy the tenor treble! Happy squeezing Mikea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danersen Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Hello Becky, I am fortunate to be the custodian of your concertina's older "twin" sibling (31203 - 2nd July, 1926). In my experience, it has required nothing different than my Amboyna. Either, I'm lucky or it's not any more demanding than the usual proper care and feeding. They are truly lovely "creatures" - literally and figuratively - as they are genuine tortoise shell. I sent mine across the water (I'm in Colorado, USA) for a complete going over by Steve Dickinson and had no problems with the CITES matter. I did include multiple copies of the Horniman/Dickinson ledgers and a written explanation of the reasons for it's transit. Perhaps, because it was going back to Wheatstone helped. Enjoy and Be Well, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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