Who made this one?

[Daniel Hersh]

Here, recently sold on eBay. I was initially guessing Jones, but I was surprised at the "Imported English Manufactured Concertina" label. Imported to where, I wonder? And a closer look at the endscrews and the size of the button holes has me thinking that it might it actually be German-made. But if so, how is it "English Manufactured"?

 

Daniel

Edited June 30, 2009 by Daniel Hersh

[Marien]

The fabric behind the ends and the wood screw (save the picture and zoom in) reminds of a german anglo. The label inside also suggests a german make. There seem to be no pads near the button area, unfortunately there are no pictures of the inside. But the bellows have an english look, and the picture give the impression that the ends consists of two parts (an end plate and an action plate). Could this an import concertina for scotland with the reeds placed in the shape of a horse shoe? Maybe a real expert could telll...

[Stephen Chambers]

That fretwork could be either Jones or Nickolds, but I bet the label actually says "Improved English Manufactured Concertina" - in which case I'd say it's probably a Nickolds, as I've seen them use labels like "IMPROVED ENGLISH CONCERTINA WARRANTED LONDON MANUFACTURED."

 

The stepped style of the rails/handles would suggest it may date from the 1860s.

 

I don't know how somebody could mistake it for a rosewood-ended Lachenal though (that's mahogany, for a start!), and as for the seller thinking ivory keys should be hallmarked, well...

Edited June 30, 2009 by Stephen Chambers

[Daniel Hersh]

Thanks! I tend to forget about Nickolds, and it didn't occur to me that the label might have been mis-transcribed. Am I right in guessing that Nickolds used these labels because Anglo-German concertinas were still fairly new at that time and they felt that they needed to clearly distinguish them from the German-made ones?

 

The fretwork doesn't look Lachenal-like, but I can understand the mistake about the wood. It's much darker than the mahogany on most of the mahogany-ended Lachenals that I've seen.

 

That fretwork could be either Jones or Nickolds, but I bet the label actually says "Improved English Manufactured Concertina" - in which case I'd say it's probably a Nickolds, as I've seen them use labels like "IMPROVED ENGLISH CONCERTINA WARRANTED LONDON MANUFACTURED."

 

The stepped style of the rails/handles would suggest it may date from the 1860s.

 

I don't know how somebody could mistake it for a rosewood-ended Lachenal though (that's mahogany, for a start!), and as for the seller thinking ivory keys should be hallmarked, well...

Edited July 1, 2009 by Daniel Hersh

[Stephen Chambers]

Thanks! I tend to forget about Nickolds, and it didn't occur to me that the label might have been mis-transcribed. Am I right in guessing that Nickolds used these labels because Anglo-German concertinas were still fairly new at that time and they felt that they needed to clearly distinguish them from the German-made ones?

Presumably, and it was maybe easier to sell them to dealers without a maker's name?

 

The fretwork doesn't look Lachenal-like, but I can understand the mistake about the wood. It's much darker than the mahogany on most of the mahogany-ended Lachenals that I've seen.

The fretwork doesn't look remotely like one, and though the wood is grainier than you'd see on a Lachenal, it's too orange and nothing like as brown, or as figured as rosewood.