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Dating Vintage Concertinas

Directory

Resources in the Concertina Library for dating vintage concertinas.

Wheatstone Concertina Ledgers
Directory: Historical business records of C. Wheatstone & Co. from the Horniman Museum in London. Earlier ledgers from the Wayne Archives contain company sales records from the late 1830s to the 1860s along with production records from the 1860s to the 1890s and some early records of wages and other payments. Later ledgers from the Dickinson Archives contain production records from 1910 to 1974. All surviving ledgers have been digitized (some 2,300 pages in total) and made available free on the web for private research. The same material is also available to buy on an inexpensive CD. Includes an introduction to the project by Margaret Birley, Keeper of Musical Instruments at the Horniman Museum, and an article by Robert Gaskins describing in detail how the ledgers were digitized.; Posted 15 June 2003; Updated 15 June 2005; » go to directory

A Timeline of Snippets of Concertina History
by Wes Williams: Facts about concertina history and brief self-explanatory clippings arranged in a timeline. This arrangement frequently gives insight into dating instruments or archival materials through their internal evidence.; Posted 15 February 2003; » go to website

Minor Historic Concertina Makers and Dealers
by Wes Williams: A valuable compendium of hard-to-find facts about minor concertina makers and dealers. Includes available material for: Jabez Austin, Ball Beavon, Barnet Samuel, Boosey & Co., R. Carr, George Case, Rock Chidley, Edward Chidley, J. B. Cramer & Co., Dove, Dowsett, Ebblewhite, Henry Harley, Keith Prowse & Co., Myers, Nickolds, Parker & Son, Roylance, Joseph Scates, A. B. Sedgwick, Shakespeare, John Simpson, Vickers, and Wallis.; Posted 15 August 2005; » go to website

Historic Concertina Patents
Directory: A portfolio of full copies of nine historic concertina patents. Includes the early Wheatstone English patents, Maccann's Duet patent, Jones's Anglo patent, the Crane Duet patent, Kaspar Wicki's patent for the Wicki-Hayden system, and Brian Hayden's much later patent for the same system. Includes: C. Wheatstone 1829; C. Wheatstone 1844; Wm. Wheatstone 1861; Maccann 1884; Jones 1885; Alsepti and Ballinger 1885; Butterfield 1896; Wicki 1896; Hayden 1986. None of these patents has any current force, all have either lapsed or been abandoned.; Posted 15 December 2004; » go to directory

An Annotated Catalogue of Historic European Free-Reed Instruments from my Private Collection
by Stephen Chambers: A very important paper describing nineteen instruments which illustrate key points in the development of European free-reed instruments, with large color photographs. This paper was presented at the 20th Musikinstrumentenbau-Symposium at Stiftung Kloster Michaelstein, held 19–21 November 1999, to coincide with an exhibition of the instruments. As Published in Harmonium und Handharmonika (Michaelsteiner Konferenzberichte 62), edited by Monika Lustig, Michaelstein, 2002, pp. 181-194.; Posted 15 January 2004; » read full article

Some Notes on Lachenal Concertina Production and Serial Numbers
by Stephen Chambers: New evidence for the role played by Louis Lachenal in the early manufacturing history of C. Wheatstone & Co., and some points of reference to use in seeking to date Lachenal concertinas. As published in PICA [Papers of the International Concertina Association], Vol. 1 (2004), pp. 3-23. Better-quality colour photographs from the author's originals have been substituted for those originally published.; Posted 01 January 2005; » read full article; » read full article in pdf

Wheatstone Anglos with Serial Numbers 50,000+
by Robert Gaskins: Between 1938 and 1974 Wheatstone & Co. manufactured concertinas in two parallel series of serial numbers; Englishes and Duets were given numbers #3XXXX, and Anglos were given numbers #5XXXX. During these 37 years Wheatstone manufactured about 2,129 Englishes and Duets, with serial numbers from about #34955 through #37083, and some 9,498 Anglos, with serial numbers from #50001 through #59498. Yet, for unknown reasons, this vast population of late Wheatstone Anglos with #50000+ numbers are not seen nearly as often as one would expect. The original version of this article appeared on the net at concertina.net, and at Concertina FAQ.; Posted 23 June 2001; » read full article

Dates of Concertinas
by Henry Minting: One sheet of blurred manual typing with dim hand-written additions, and another sheet (in two copies) possibly re-typed later from the first on an electric typewriter, with "Dates of Concertinas" relating Wheatstone serial numbers to dates of manufacture. These were discussed and an attempt made to arrive at a reliable partial transcription, in Robert Gaskins, Wheatstone Anglos with Serial Numbers 50,000+, 2001. Unpublished manuscripts, Horniman Museum Library. Neither sheet has yet been catalogued at the Horniman, but these appear to constitute item number C1045 in Neil Wayne's finding list to his archives, which is described as "C1045. A copy of a complete dating list for Wheatstone Concertinas, compiled by Henry Minting. All numbers from 1 - 58485 are covered, with approximate dates of manufacture." ("The Concertina Museum, Archives", page 40.); Posted 01 February 2005; » read full document in pdf

Dates for Wheatstone Concertinas
by Nigel Pickles: A mysterious listing sent to Concertina Magazine by "Nigel Pickles from the U.K." giving dates of manufacture for Wheatstone Concertinas up to 1957. There is no hint of its source, but for the period up to 1938 it closely resembles a list attributed by Neil Wayne to Henry Minting. As published in Concertina Magazine (Australia), No. 12 (Autumn 1985), pp 10-11.; Posted 01 February 2005; » read full document in pdf

Concertina Pricelists
collected by Chris Algar: A unique collection of nearly 40 pricelists for vintage concertinas, mostly found in old concertina cases. From internal evidence it is possible to date the Wheatstone pricelists with more or less accuracy, but the Lachenal pricelists and others from dealers still have some uncertainty in dates.; Posted 07 March 2005; » go to directory

Wheatstone English Concertina Pricelists
collected by Chris Algar: Most of these pricelists were found in old concertina cases. From internal evidence it is possible to date the lists c. 1915 to c. 1965 (plus one very early pricelist dated 1848, from the collection of the Horniman Museum, and a list published as an advertisement in a trade directory in 1859). These lists contain information about Wheatstone model numbers and descriptions which are useful to interpret the Wheatstone Concertina Ledgers. See also Duet pricelists from Wheatstone. See also Anglo pricelists from Wheatstone.; Posted 15 May 2003; » go to directory

Wheatstone Duet Concertina Pricelists
collected by Chris Algar: Most of these pricelists were found in old concertina cases. From internal evidence it is possible to date the lists c. 1910 to c. 1965 (plus one very early pricelist for Double duets c. 1850). These lists contain information about Wheatstone model numbers and descriptions which are useful to interpret the Wheatstone Concertina Ledgers. See also English pricelists from Wheatstone. See also Anglo pricelists from Wheatstone.; Posted 15 February 2003; » go to directory

Wheatstone Anglo Concertina Pricelists
collected by Chris Algar: Most of these pricelists were found in old concertina cases. From internal evidence it is possible to date the lists c. 1910 to c. 1965. These lists contain information about Wheatstone model numbers and descriptions which are useful to interpret the Wheatstone Concertina Ledgers. See also English pricelists from Wheatstone. See also Duet pricelists from Wheatstone.; Posted 15 February 2003; » go to directory

Lachenal Concertina Pricelists
collected by Chris Algar: Most of the earlier "pricelists" here were printed as trade advertisements, in dated serials. Those actually issued as separate pricelists were found in old concertina cases; from internal evidence it is possible to date these c. 1890 to c. 1925.; Posted 07 March 2005; » go to directory