Ragged Folk Porn

[janmaat]

Since there seem to be many people with a folk background, can you show us the oldest piece of kit that still sounds great? you grand ma's squeeze box, your grand dad's guitar? The world's oldest ballaphone? The most worn busking folk tool? The antique banjo with the signatures of all the prior players? Player's instruments breathing history? Stuff so f***ed up you'd just wish to also put your hands on that lovely old bitch of an instrumen?

[pete.young]

The reeds and reed pans from one of my concertinas dates from 1864, but I don't have any pictures and I'm not going to take it to bits just for that!

[janmaat]

I still have my grand mother's squeeze box from 1936, a lovely hohner liliput in Bflat Eflat.
It's the only part of the family heritage that survived world war II as my grandma was a
refugee with the kids and the squeeze box. Then my dad played it and then me, on many
occasions, settings, street corners, continents, boats, vans and in in tunnels, tents, pubs,
under bridges, in the djungle, the desert and on the seven seas.
It's now most of the time in its case since the tuning has become unbearable, and the
whole instrument being in the state you can imagine after 3 genereations of shantiemen.
Don't have any pictures though...

Edited January 8, 2012 by janmaat

[Dom in Dorset]

Flute by Riviere and Hawkes made some time between 1876 and 1889. No family history, I don't even play it much, it's primarily for research purposes and part of my pension fund.

[Beer of the Bass]

Once I've got some daylight, I might have to take a picture of my flute. It's a one-key Clementi, from somewhere between 1802 and 1830, which I found in a secondhand shop for £20. My flute playing is not up to much, but it's a great sounding instrument, although hard to play in tune.

[goblin]

Not got any pics of it (and I'm back at uni) but my mum has a very early 1900s Rudal Carte Thinned South African Blackwood Flute. The headjoint is solid silver lined too. Sounds out of this world and was previously owned by Christopher Hyde Smith. We have a very old Conn C Melody Saxophone too.

Edited January 8, 2012 by goblin

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1326023184' post='1491067']
The reeds and reed pans from one of my concertinas dates from 1864, but I don't have any pictures and I'm not going to take it to bits just for that!
[/quote]

My anglo concertina dates from somewhere in the 1890s. It's a Crabb built Jeffries, so exact dates are a little vague.
I guess that yours will be a Wheatstone given the age and the fact that you know the exact year.

[pete.young]

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1326587691' post='1499336']

I guess that yours will be a Wheatstone given the age and the fact that you know the exact year.
[/quote]

Yes, that one is a bit of a collection of bits and pieces. The reeds and reed pans are Wheatstone, the number has been dated by Steve Dickinson. The ends are Lachenal with glass keys, and probably date to the 1920's. The bellows are 7-fold by Harry Crabb, my mum had them put on in the 1960's. But it's a real ol' original axe ;-) .

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1326629163' post='1499616']
Yes, that one is a bit of a collection of bits and pieces. The reeds and reed pans are Wheatstone, the number has been dated by Steve Dickinson. The ends are Lachenal with glass keys, and probably date to the 1920's. The bellows are 7-fold by Harry Crabb, my mum had them put on in the 1960's. But it's a real ol' original axe ;-) .
[/quote]

Wow, a bit of a mongrel , but if it sound good and plays well who cares?

Do you go on 'Concertina.net' at all?

Edited January 15, 2012 by Count Bassy