|
|
Post by concertinagirl on Sept 15, 2018 13:16:45 GMT -5
Look at what Larry saw in the window of a pawn shop on Saturday morning. A CONCERTINA! I went later in the day to try it out and it played beautifully. No sour notes at all. Larry looked up the make and model and it is from a line built in 1938. This is the first purchase I have ever made from a pawn shop and I would have never thought I would ever make a purchase at a pawn shop. LOL! But I couldn't pass this one up. I am just thrilled with my new acquisition.  |
|
|
|
Post by brucemacneill on Sept 15, 2018 13:32:21 GMT -5
Congratulations on your purchase. Have you watched enough "Pawn Stars" to negotiate a good deal?
I had some time to kill a few years back and went into a pawn shop to look at the guitars they had. They wouldn't even let me tune the guitars to see how they played. I didn't buy any. Maybe I didn't look like a buyer.
|
|
|
|
Post by concertinagirl on Sept 15, 2018 13:41:19 GMT -5
Congratulations on your purchase. Have you watched enough "Pawn Stars" to negotiate a good deal? I had some time to kill a few years back and went into a pawn shop to look at the guitars they had. They wouldn't even let me tune the guitars to see how they played. I didn't buy any. Maybe I didn't look like a buyer. Nope, I have never watched "Pawn Stars." I don't do "rummage sales" either. Generally speaking, I have no interest in other people's crap. I have enough of my own. I really didn't want to go the pawn shop. Larry convinced me to just go and take a look. Once I played it, I was hooked. I knew I wasn't leaving that store without it. I have no "negotiation" skills. Larry tried his best. He would have left without it because they wouldn't come down. Not me. I paid "full price." Yup...I paid $69.99. LOL! LOL! LOL! I think i got a GREAT DEAL. I am so happy. I just love it. It plays beautifully. |
|
|
|
Post by xyrn on Sept 15, 2018 14:12:10 GMT -5
That's awesome!
These days it's getting harder and harder to make "a score" in a pawn shop, but it looks like you did!!
|
|
|
|
Post by concertinagirl on Sept 15, 2018 14:25:07 GMT -5
That's awesome! These days it's getting harder and harder to make "a score" in a pawn shop, but it looks like you did!! Yes, I thought "negotiation" was the whole idea of a pawn shop. I was told by the clerk in this pawn shop that they are "corporately owned" and that the price was not negotiatable. Good Grief. In this case, I do think because they had no idea what this instrument even was and certainly not what they are worth...I got a GREAT DEAL! LOL! |
|
|
|
Post by brucemacneill on Sept 15, 2018 14:27:47 GMT -5
That's awesome! These days it's getting harder and harder to make "a score" in a pawn shop, but it looks like you did!! Yes, I thought "negotiation" was the whole idea of a pawn shop. I was told by the clerk in this pawn shop that they are "corporately owned" and that the price was not negotiatable. Good Grief. In this case, I do think because they had no idea what this instrument even was and certainly not what they are worth...I got a GREAT DEAL! LOL! You're probably right that you were the first person they met who knew what it was. In any case, if it's a good one, you got a hell of a deal. |
|
|
|
Post by RickW on Sept 15, 2018 14:47:51 GMT -5
Wow, crazy good deal.
|
|
|
|
Post by Hobson on Sept 15, 2018 15:36:55 GMT -5
Great find!. I don't set foot in pawn shops. But a friend of mine finds lots of deals on guitars that need some work. Fixing them up is a hobby. I doubt that he plays more than 2 or 3 of the 30 or so that he has.
|
|
|
|
Post by drlj on Sept 15, 2018 18:29:06 GMT -5
PawnShop Concertina. Great band. I saw them in 1969 in Golden Gate Park. It was the year of purple rain and I remember Garcia sat in for one 23 minute song. The hippies were in heaven.
Hard to believe that less than 6 months later the bus explosion on Highway One took out the entire band.
We still have their 36 LPs, though.
I have no idea how I got to San Francisco, but getting back home is another story.
|
|
|
|
Post by Village Idiot on Sept 15, 2018 19:36:07 GMT -5
That's a hell of a steal, Janice. I would have bought it just to mess around with. Good that Lar drug you in there!
I get the idea that you were the only person who knew what it was, but in Milwaukee?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2018 20:00:25 GMT -5
Into the hands of talent. Enjoy it!
|
|
|
|
Post by concertinagirl on Sept 16, 2018 6:35:45 GMT -5
That's a hell of a steal, Janice. I would have bought it just to mess around with. Good that Lar drug you in there! I get the idea that you were the only person who knew what it was, but in Milwaukee? Yes, no one in the store (clerks) knew what it was. That part made me a little sad. On the other hand, the customers loved when I played. One guy (who had been in the back of the store when I played) said to a clerk, "Wow, that guy could really play that thing." The clerk said, "NO, that was HER." LOL! Two younger folks wanted to hear me play it as I was carrying it in the parking lot as I was carrying it to the car. It's still a fascinating instrument. |
|
|
|
Post by drlj on Sept 16, 2018 7:10:29 GMT -5
It is a cool story, a great memory and a really nice instrument.
It would be great to learn that instrument’s story—its history, who owned it, how it was used, and how it came to be in the pawn shop where you were able to rescue it. Those things will probably never be known, unfortunately.
|
|
Tamarack
Administrator
Ancient Citizen
Posts: 9,559
|
Post by Tamarack on Sept 16, 2018 7:26:23 GMT -5
Congrats -- this is the kind of pawn shop find most people can only dream of.
|
|
Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 20,523 
|
Post by Dub on Sept 16, 2018 8:45:04 GMT -5
Wow! Great story, Janice, and great find. I guess it pays to listen to your beau once in a while.  Of course we need more info… maker, age, etc. and a vid of you playing it. |
|
|
|
Post by RickW on Sept 16, 2018 10:48:17 GMT -5
That's a hell of a steal, Janice. I would have bought it just to mess around with. Good that Lar drug you in there! I get the idea that you were the only person who knew what it was, but in Milwaukee? Yes, no one in the store (clerks) knew what it was. That part made me a little sad. On the other hand, the customers loved when I played. One guy (who had been in the back of the store when I played) said to a clerk, "Wow, that guy could really play that thing." The clerk said, "NO, that was HER." LOL! Two younger folks wanted to hear me play it as I was carrying it in the parking lot as I was carrying it to the car. It's still a fascinating instrument. I kept meaning to wander over when you were holding it, to ask more about it. So many members of the accordion family, so many different ways to play. I did see a bit of the music you were reading, it looked like it was mostly melody, but you do a lot more harmonically than that. Do you improv some of the accompaniment? |
|
|
|
Post by dradtke on Sept 16, 2018 15:51:04 GMT -5
It has to have some history. Not knowing what it it, I suggest you make some up. Better yet, have Lar make some up, I bet he'd come up with something good.
|
|
|
|
Post by lar on Sept 17, 2018 8:45:59 GMT -5
It has to have some history. Not knowing what it it, I suggest you make some up. Better yet, have Lar make some up, I bet he'd come up with something good. Best as I can tell it's a 1937 Patek concertina. It was manufactured in Chicago by the Georgi & Vitak Company. Georgi & Vitak made concertinas and sold them to various retailers who marketed them under different names. I believe that's why a lot of concertinas don't have a brand name on them. Identical concertinas were sold under the Patek name (George Patek Music) as well as Pearl King (Vitak-Elsnick Music, Chicago), and Peerless (Kosatkas House of Music in Berwyn, Illinois). Jan's concertina has a serial number stamped on it but no name. There is a small plate indicating that it was sold by Forrester Music in Milwaukee. Assuming my identification is correct it's because I looked at a bunch of concertina photos on-line until I found some concertinas that had the same decoration as Jan's. The I looked up the serial number in the data maintained by the U.S. Concertina Association. I'm about 90% certain that I've identified the maker and date of manufacture. A friend of ours has been playing concertina and performing in the Milwaukee area for 60+ years. He is very knowledgeable about these instruments and I'm anxious to have him look this one over. Regardless of the brand name the instrument was sold under, Georgi & Vitak made some of the best and most popular concertinas sold between 1920 and the 60s. This instrument has a laminated mother-of-pearl "skin" and is nicely decorated. It was one of the higher-end instruments that Georgi & Vitak produced. It would have sold for several hundred dollars in 1937. I don't doubt that Jan got a great deal on this concertina because the pawn shop had no idea of what they were buying. My guess is that whoever sold it to them got $25 or $30 for it. It's in very good shape and in perfect tune. It's got a great tone and has a nice rich bass on the left hand. Jan says it's plays beautifully. I'm still working on the back story. I'll try to come up with something good. Suggestions would be welcomed. |
|
|
|
Post by lar on Sept 17, 2018 9:14:23 GMT -5
Yes, no one in the store (clerks) knew what it was. That part made me a little sad. On the other hand, the customers loved when I played. One guy (who had been in the back of the store when I played) said to a clerk, "Wow, that guy could really play that thing." The clerk said, "NO, that was HER." LOL! Two younger folks wanted to hear me play it as I was carrying it in the parking lot as I was carrying it to the car. It's still a fascinating instrument. I kept meaning to wander over when you were holding it, to ask more about it. So many members of the accordion family, so many different ways to play. I did see a bit of the music you were reading, it looked like it was mostly melody, but you do a lot more harmonically than that. Do you improv some of the accompaniment? Rick, concertina music can best be described as weird. While it contains a staff Jan only uses the notes for timing. She can't actually read them. It's what appears above the staff that's tells her what to play. It's a series of numbers representing the right and left hand buttons and a symbol that indicates whether the bellows are to be pushed or pulled. Jan plays what's known as a Chemnitzer concertina. Each button produces two notes depending on whether the bellows are being pushed or pulled. Very confusing. What's worse is that the interval between the two notes is not the same for all of the buttons. Jan does augment what's written on the sheet music. She sometimes adds fills or some bass stuff. As time goes on she's augmenting the sheet music more and more. She's only been playing again for about 2 years after a 35 year lay-off. I believe there is a lot of stuff stuck in her brain that she's not aware of. As time goes by that knowledge has started to work itself to the surface and she has begun to work it into her playing. It's been an interesting process to observe. |
|
|
|
Post by theevan on Sept 17, 2018 9:27:20 GMT -5
So, concertina "TAB"
|
|
