The Amateur Concertinist

Robert Gaskins

Contributions to the Concertina Library by Robert Gaskins.

gaskins-chords-maccann How to Play Chords on Any Maccann Duet Concertina
by Robert Gaskins
Explains how to play chords to accompany songs on Maccann Duet concertinas of any size and from any period. Intended for beginners, assumes no knowledge of musical notation or theory. Includes a chord chart suitable for the lid of a concertina case. 51 pages.
Posted 15 February 2001
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gaskins-twelve-sided-wheatstone A Wheatstone Twelve-Sided 'Edeophone' Concertina with Pre-Maccann Chromatic Duet Fingering
by Neil Wayne, Margaret Birley, and Robert Gaskins
A duet concertina (serial no. 35074) with a unique fingering arrangement, made by Wheatstone in 1938, turns out to be a realization of a design from Wm. Wheatstone's patent of 1861. The instrument is twelve-sided, a Registered Design feature of Lachenal & Co., and it turns out to be one of at least sixteen twelve-sided instruments made by Wheatstone between 1934 and 1941. The instrument is now in the collection of the Horniman Museum, London. As published in The Free-Reed Journal 3 (2001): 3-17. This HTML version of the article adds a number of additional photographs and active links to many of the sources cited in the published article. Updated 15 August 2003: Footnote 11 updated to record that Randall C. Merris has located instrument serial #33301, another of the set of three twelve-sided 40-key Anglos.
Posted 15 November 2001; last updated 15 August 2003
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gaskins-baffles Baffles for Maccann Duet Concertinas
by Robert Gaskins
Explains how baffles fitted internally can reduce the volume and/or change the tone of a Maccann Duet concertina, and how the sound of each end can be controlled independently so that the "balance" of an instrument can be altered. The motivation for adding baffles is most often to accompany a singer, to alter the sound-quality, or to allow a right-hand melody to be heard while playing left-hand chords. With 88 step-by-step photographs, and web sources (UK and US) for all materials and tools needed. 15 March 2002: Updated with photos of early Wheatstone wooden baffles (from Paul Hardy) and of Lachenal linen linings cut out individually around every button (from Joe Palof). Also added, a photo of a unique ten-sided Maccann Duet which, rather than quieting the left end with baffles, instead makes the right end louder by doubling all the reeds on the right side (now owned by Neil Wayne, photo from Stephen Chambers). 15 February 2003: Updated with photos and description of very early Pre-Maccann Wheatstone Double Duet No. 23 (1847-1848) which was equipped at the factory with conventional baffles on both sides plus a special baffle inside the reed pan on the left side--only--to balance the volume of the two ends.
Posted 15 February 2002; last updated 15 February 2003
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» read section 1: "baffles for maccann duet concertinas"
» read section 2: "step-by-step photographs"
» read section 3: "appendices, where to buy materials"
gaskins-lachenal-sisters-edinburgh The Lachenal Sisters Visit Edinburgh, 1865–1866
by Robert Gaskins
At Christmas of 1865–1866, three young daughters of the late Louis Lachenal gave a series of concerts in Edinburgh introducing “concerted music” played on treble, tenor, and bass concertinas. We think this was also exactly the period when Lachenal & Co. had lost their contract to manufacture concertinas for Wheatstone, making it important to publicize Lachenal’s own brand. Based on clippings from The Scotsman newspaper, Edinburgh, notices of concerts and reviews, October 1865 through January 1866.
Posted 01 February 2005
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gaskins-wicki-system The Wicki System—an 1896 Precursor of the Hayden System
by Robert Gaskins
The concertina keyboard system known today as the "Hayden" system, which was independently discovered by Brian Hayden and patented by him in 1986, had also been discovered and patented 90 years earlier by a Swiss inventor named Kaspar Wicki. Wicki's 1896 Swiss patent (CH13329) is clear and unambiguous, including a keyboard diagram labeled in standard musical notation.
Posted 01 March 2004
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gaskins-which-duet Which Duet Concertina—Hayden or Maccann?
by Robert Gaskins
A comparative review of two concertinas: a Stagi Hayden Duet concertina (c. 2003), and a Lachenal Maccann Duet concertina (c. 1900). Each instrument has 46 keys, and each cost £500 ($800) ready to play. On almost every measure, the antique Lachenal Maccann Duet turned out to be preferable to the modern Stagi Hayden Duet—by a considerable margin. The advantages frequently mentioned as belonging to the Hayden system (uniformity of fingering in all key signatures, automatic transposition) turned out to be significantly compromised by the restricted size of the Stagi. If you want to play a duet concertina, at present you will probably do best to buy a Maccann Duet.
Posted 01 March 2004
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gaskins-jeffries-maccann-no-6-pics Photographs of Jeffries Maccann Duet Concertina, serial No. 6
by Robert Gaskins
Photographic documentation of a Jeffries Maccann Duet, serial No. 6, 57 keys, c. 1915. Marked on the right with an oval engraved C. Jeffries Maker, 23 Praed St. Raised metal ends, some construction details in common with Jeffries anglos such as linear reed chambers. Its matching manuscript chords tutor is also reproduced on this website. 54 photographs.
Posted 15 February 2003
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jeffries-maccann-chords-tutor Maccann Duet Chords Tutor Manuscript
from Robert Gaskins
A polished 76-page manuscript “chords tutor” found in the case of a matching 57-key Maccann Duet made by C. Jeffries Maker, 23 Praed St. The instrument and the tutor are dated c. 1915. This may have been a “semi-bespoke” tutor included with the instrument when it was originally sold. Unlike the much later Jeffries System manuscript tutor (c. 1960) written with a biro (ballpoint pen) in very rough style, this much-longer document was written with a split pen and is very carefully finished.
Posted 15 February 2003
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gaskins-duett-no-64-pics Photographs of Wheatstone Duett duet concertina, serial No. 64
by Robert Gaskins
Photographic documentation of an excellently-preserved example of the Early Wheatstone Duett instruments from the 1850s, forerunners of the later Maccann Duet. 46 photographs.
Posted 15 February 2003
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gaskins-double-no-23-pics Photographs and Description of Wheatstone Double duet concertina, serial No. 23
by Robert Gaskins
Photographic documentation of very early Double duet (1847-1848). This No. 23 has only 45 keys, smaller than the 57-key size which is shown in the tutor or the 67-key size exemplified by Danny Chapman's No. 14. It contains an original additional baffle to reduce the volume of the bass side. 34 photographs.
Posted 15 February 2003
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gaskins-late-wheatstone-anglos 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
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jeffries-man-and-family Charles Jeffries: the Man and His Family
by Chris Algar, Stephen Chambers, Robert Gaskins, David Lee, Randall C. Merris, and Wes Williams
New information about Charles Jeffries and all of his family that participated in the concertina making business. Contains the first known pictures of Charles and Mary Ann Jeffries, and reproductions of birth, marriage, and death certificates where known. Summary table of Jeffries descendants. Brief descriptions of the addresses where Charles Jeffries lived and worked, with maps of the Praed Street area, White Lion Passage, and the Kilburn area. Based on information from members of the Jeffries family.
Posted 15 November 2005
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concertina-man The Concertina Man
Presented by Peter Day,
Produced by Neil Koenig
BBC programme on the history and music of the concertina, focusing on its inventor Sir Charles Wheatstone as a somewhat belated recognition of his bicentenary in 2002. In addition to the presenter, Peter Day, the program features (in order of appearance) Bob Gaskins, Brian Bowers, Margaret Birley, Stephen Chambers, Frank James, Douglas Rogers, Sean Minnie, and Steve Dickinson. The program was produced by Neil Koenig. BBC World Service programme broadcast 07 September 2004.
Posted 22 November 2004
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gaskins-howto How the Wheatstone Concertina Ledgers Were Digitized for Publication on the Web and CD
by Robert Gaskins
How the Wheatstone Concertina Ledgers, some 2,300 manuscript pages, were digitized and made freely available for research on the web and on inexpensive CDs. Sufficient detail is provided to enable anyone to undertake a similar project. Only simple computer tools were used. Costs for supplies were about $50, and the project required about 1,000 hours of volunteer work.
Posted 15 June 2005
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lachenal-sig-wheatstone-concertina-ledgers 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
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ledgers-serial-and-date-indexes Serial Number and Date Indexes to the Wheatstone Ledgers
Directory
Indexes listed on this page contain serial numbers and dates from the Wheatstone Ledgers at the Horniman Museum, London. Each item listed is a single index (either serial numbers or dates) to a single ledger. Indexes lead to the ledger identification and page number as a live link: click on it to see the colour photograph of the page from which the information was taken. There is also an automated lookup which finds all records for any single serial number throughout all the indexed ledgers. (Only indexes to nineteenth-century ledgers are yet completed. Additional indexes to the twentieth-century ledgers will be listed here as they are published.)
Posted 15 December 2005; updated 01 February 2006
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ledgers-serials-lookup Serial Number Lookup for Wheatstone Ledgers 1830s to 1890s
by Robert Gaskins and Wes Williams
A quick lookup for serial numbers in Wheatstone Ledgers covering the late 1830s to early 1890s; type in a single number and receive a report on all its occurrences in the ledgers. Includes ledgers C104a, C1046, C1047, C1048, C1049, C1050, C1051, C1052, C1053, and C1054. The record for each serial number entry gives its date (if present) and a live link to the photograph of its page in the online ledgers.
Posted 01 February 2006
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calculator Calculate Modern Values of Historic Concertina Prices
by Randall C. Merris and Robert Gaskins
“How much would that be in new money?” An interactive calculator to convert sterling values from any year 1830–1999 to the equivalent value in the year 2000. The calculation preserves the relation between the chosen value and “average earnings” for the two dates; this method makes it appropriate for converting wages and capital sums, and also for expensive discretionary products such as concertinas. The calculator deals with both “old money” (prior to 1971) and the later decimalized currency. It is especially useful for understanding historical documents such as old advertisements and pricelists, and the sales prices and wages recorded in the Wheatstone Concertina Ledgers from the Horniman Museum.
Posted 01 January 2005
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ebay-listings Worldwide Real-Time eBay Listings for “Concertina”
by Robert Gaskins
Latest listings from eBay sites around the world, retrieved anew each time this webpage is loaded, linked to the eBay items. Can be configured to perform other searches, on any one or more of the eBay national sites. Includes listings from eBay United States, eBay United Kingdom, eBay Ireland, eBay Australia, eBay Germany, eBay Austria, eBay Switzerland, eBay Spain, eBay France, eBay Netherlands, eBay Italy, eBay Belgium, eBay Canada, eBay Taiwan, eBay China, and eBay India. Auctions at eBay are generally poor places to find playable instruments, but have unearthed much general knowledge about ordinary concertinas and occasional museum pieces.
Posted 01 January 2005
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Robert Gaskins, an amateur concertinist
Robert Gaskins,
an amateur concertinist