steve139 Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 (edited) I just refound a Concertina that was given to me by my grandmother in 1975 It’s a Wheatstone # 31987 that has been sitting in its case since my grandfathers passing. It looks to be in good condition with all its keys but it has been sitting for 32years in its original box. We have done some research and believe it was made in Oct of 1928 I have enclosed some photos and was hoping someone might be able to put a value on it (I’m not interested in selling it) but would love to pass it down to my kids. I’m sure after all the years just sitting it must need something done and would like to restore it to it’s former glory just not sure where to bring it Thanks for any help you can give me Edited July 4, 2007 by steve139 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Stout Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 What a lovely instrument! The ledgers show it as aa amboyna ended extended treble (model 18) aeola. That ledger page is full of spectacular special instruments. I wonder if there is a recent sales record of any of them by the main dealers. Take a look at Concertina Connections page of rare concertinas for some a bit similar. Where are you located? I'd want to have one of the (rather few) real specialists look at the instrument and do any needed restoration (might need valves?). I hope you'll play it snf give it the care such a gem deserves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 Well, this is as nice an example of an amboyna ended Wheatstone Aeola as I've seen. In good condition it's certainly worth the other side of £2000. If you look at the Concertina FAQ at the Makers and Repairers section that should get you started on finding someone to do whatever is necessary. I would encourage you either to learn it yourself or get your kids to. It's a lovely instrument and deserves to be played - English concertinas are very welcome in English music sessions. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Jowaisas Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 Steve, You have fortunately been left a top of the line wheatstone Aeola. Could be a really fine concertina. If concert tuned and put into top notch condition $5000.00+ might be a dealer's selling price. Please make sure your children are ready to cherish and use an instrument of this quality before you hand it over to them. In the meantime once it is put back in playing condition wouldn't it be honoring your grandparents to learn a few tunes upon it? Instruments stay in much better condition if used regularly. We are all happy for your good fortune and your grandparents good taste. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 Sell it, Steve. It's of such rare quality that serious players would give their eye teeth for it. If you leave it in the box in the loft it will deteriorate (concertinas are much better used) and you're depriving someone who could use it of the enormous pleasure of playing it. Take the cash and buy something you really want as your memorial of your grandfather and let the instrument do what it was made for. Otherwise someone will find it in the loft when you eventually kick the bucket and THEY'll sell it. Assuming it hasn't been casually chucked out or damaged by then, of course. I don't play this style of concertina so I wouldn't want it, before you suspect me of self interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Kruskal Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Steve found my # and called me up, we both live in Brooklyn, NY. He came over this afternoon and showed me his lovely Aeola. What a thing of beauty it is! The raised Amboyna ends are highly figured, hardware gold plated with a few buttons worn down to the brass. A quick check of the tuning is A=440 and very good with only a few notes off by a bit. Close enough that perhaps cleaning the reeds is all it would need, if that. All the buttons work, as well as the pads and valves. The bellows are in great shape with only a few scuff marks and the whole thing is very tight with no leaking to speak of. The case is in great shape too with a zippered canvas cover. I’m not an EC player but I could play enough to see and hear that the action is quick and the tone rich with a wide dynamic range. I think that Steve wants to sell after all. Whoever gets this beauty will be very pleased to own it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musical Sore Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 I love the wording of the care label in the lid of the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 I see what you mean. Mr Wheatstone recommends that concertinas be kept in a DRY, TEMPERATE place. Be warned some of you. That clearly means NO PUBS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve139 Posted July 4, 2007 Author Share Posted July 4, 2007 (edited) Steve found my # and called me up, we both live in Brooklyn, NY. He came over this afternoon and showed me his lovely Aeola. What a thing of beauty it is! The raised Amboyna ends are highly figured, hardware gold plated with a few buttons worn down to the brass. A quick check of the tuning is A=440 and very good with only a few notes off by a bit. Close enough that perhaps cleaning the reeds is all it would need, if that. All the buttons work, as well as the pads and valves. The bellows are in great shape with only a few scuff marks and the whole thing is very tight with no leaking to speak of. The case is in great shape too with a zippered canvas cover. I’m not an EC player but I could play enough to see and hear that the action is quick and the tone rich with a wide dynamic range. I think that Steve wants to sell after all. Whoever gets this beauty will be very pleased to own it. First off I would like to thank Jody for taking my call and then inviting me into his home where he gave me a history lesson on the concertina. Although he says he doesn’t play this kind of concertina I would have never known As Jody said in his post I have decided to sell my grandfathers concertina. Anyone interested can send me an email windowsl580@yahoo.com Again thank you Jody Steve Edited July 4, 2007 by steve139 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 (edited) What a lovely instrument! The ledgers show it as aa amboyna ended extended treble (model 18) aeola. That ledger page is full of spectacular special instruments. Yes I've come across a few ledger pages like that one, that seem to have been reserved for "top of the line" models (notice how the batch numbers vary so much). Hmmm, a 56-key treble that would almost match my July 1926 amboyna tenor-treble eh? (All except Steve's grandfather's one having the later style "circle labels", rather than the old pointy "best" ones that mine has.) Get thee behind me ! Edited to add photo. Edited July 7, 2007 by Stephen Chambers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I have enclosed some photos and was hoping someone might be able to put a value on it (I’m not interested in selling it) but would love to pass it down to my kids. Sell it, Steve. It's of such rare quality that serious players would give their eye teeth for it. ....Take the cash and buy something you really want as your memorial of your grandfather and let the instrument do what it was made for. My immediate reaction to "buy something you really want" (my emphasis) was: Ah, today's society of "instant gratification, and ignore the future." Though you (Steve) say you've already decided to sell it, I suggest you not be hasty. Pulling a number out of the air, I suggest you take at least 6 months to think it over. (You could still be accumulating offers to buy.) After forgetting about it for 32 years, I doubt that you really need to rush to sell. The demand for that instrument is not going to decline; I expect that its potential price will at least keep up with inflation over the next several years. If you leave it in the box in the loft it will deteriorate (concertinas are much better used) and you're depriving someone who could use it of the enormous pleasure of playing it. It hasn't deteriorated over the last 32 years. Kept in the case in a stable environment, such an instrument will not deteriorate... certainly not over the next few months or even years. As for the argument about depriving someone else of the pleasure of playing it, if you sell it to one player, you'll still be "depriving" all the others. If you care about that, it's better to take some time to decide who you think would most deserve it. Even if you heed Dirge's advice to "take the cash and buy something you really want," you don't need to be hasty about it. You should think very hard about what you really want. Unless right at this moment there's something you've been desperately longing for and unable to afford, you should probably wait. What if you sold it and spent the money, then in the future discovered something you wanted even more, but couldn't get your money back from the first item? The concertina will hold its value. Meanwhile, you mentioned leaving it your kids. I don't know how old they are, or if you've asked them whether they're interested in it. But if at some time in the future one of them does learn to play English concertina, they'll never forgive you for parting with that gem. Even if they themselves are rich, it could take them years to find and acquire an instrument of that quality. And it wouldn't have the family history that this one does. I'll recommend that you consider yet one more possibility. Try to learn to play it, yourself. Even if you have no interest in playing music or feel you haven't the talent or skill, there's little to lose by trying. (If I still lived in New York, I would even offer you free lessons, but right now I can't afford to commute from Denmark for that purpose.) Stranger things have happened than someone discovering a "hidden" talent, and concertinas can be strangely addictive. (I admit that you might not consider that last to be a positive thing.) I think that learning to play would be a true "memorial" to your grandfather. But if you don't become enthused, and you finally conclude that you really do want to sell it, it will still be easy to sell it at that time. Do think it over before selling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boney Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Though you (Steve) say you've already decided to sell it, I suggest you not be hasty. Wise words. You've got plenty of time, no matter how many people tell you they want it NOW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musical Sore Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I want it NOW!!!! I just don't think I can afford it EVER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Evans Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I'll jump in here and add my support along with Boney on Jim's sage advice. An instrument of this quality deserves a great deal of consideration. Haste always makes waste . My dear ole' long departed dad sold 2 lots on a little North Florida Island in 1960 so he wouldn't have to take out a very small loan to buy furniture. All of that suff except the Iron frame butterfly chair have long since taken their rest in a land fill. The lots on the little Florida island were subsaquintly divided into 4 lots just before a bridge was built and I can't even bring myself to contemplate their value today . Abide! Of course if those lots were still in my family I would have already contacted you about your grandfather's Wheatstone and made a handsome offer that would be very hard to turn down . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pierceall Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Steve found my # and called me up, we both live in Brooklyn, NY. He came over this afternoon and showed me his lovely Aeola. What a thing of beauty it is! The raised Amboyna ends are highly figured, hardware gold plated with a few buttons worn down to the brass. A quick check of the tuning is A=440 and very good with only a few notes off by a bit. Close enough that perhaps cleaning the reeds is all it would need, if that. All the buttons work, as well as the pads and valves. The bellows are in great shape with only a few scuff marks and the whole thing is very tight with no leaking to speak of. The case is in great shape too with a zippered canvas cover. I’m not an EC player but I could play enough to see and hear that the action is quick and the tone rich with a wide dynamic range. I think that Steve wants to sell after all. Whoever gets this beauty will be very pleased to own it. First off I would like to thank Jody for taking my call and then inviting me into his home where he gave me a history lesson on the concertina. Although he says he doesn’t play this kind of concertina I would have never known As Jody said in his post I have decided to sell my grandfathers concertina. Anyone interested can send me an email windowsl580@yahoo.com Again thank you Jody Steve I second Jim's advice. It's like money in the bank and appreciating at that. You might be amazed at what its value is today compared to back when it was given to you. I'd sell it only if I needed to, and after due deliberation. But if you do decide to keep it, have it insured. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 But if you do decide to keep it, have it insured. Mike Sage advice. If you want to get it formally valued and any outstanding repair work done I can recomment the Button Box in Sunderland, MA as honourable and knowledgeable people. Website here. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 But if you do decide to keep it, have it insured.Sage advice. If you want to get it formally valued and any outstanding repair work done I can recomment the Button Box in Sunderland, MA as honourable and knowledgeable people. Website here. I agree, both about the advice and the Button Box. I've known the folks at the Button Box for years... decades, and have kept in touch since moving to Denmark. When it comes to concertinas, you won't find better in the Western Hemisphere. I suspect that there may be as many as 100 of Concertina.net's members who have been served by the BB, with no complaints that I'm aware of. If you want to check on that, just do a search on this site for "Button Box". And the BB's proprietor, Richard Morse, is an active and extremely helpful member of these Forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve139 Posted July 6, 2007 Author Share Posted July 6, 2007 Thanks guys I have been in contact with the button box and I am awaiting a call back from Jim (might have the name wrong) he’s away till the 9th I was going to list my concertina on Ebay next week and see what happens As for keeping grandpas concertina I am! Just not the Wheatstone 31987 I will be restoring his back up I believe it’s a Wheatstone as well but maybe you guys will help with that J This is the one as kids my two sibling’s and myself played with and by the condition its in we must have had a heck of a time with it but I’m sure the Button box will be able to restore it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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