The Concertina Museum Collection Ref:C-082.



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Item Type: Concertina

Summary Labels and Serial Numbers End Frets Fingering System Straps and Holding Devices Fret Baffle Action Board Reeds and Reed Pans Bellows Case and Other

Summary

Full Description: C Wheatstone No 23107. An early appearance Wheatstone's "Ĉola" in its standard Octagonal form. This model is a high quality Tenor-Treble 48-Key English system Ĉola, No 23107, from around 1900/05. This instrument may date from 1900 - still in the "20 Conduit Street" period, or as late as 1905, when manufacturing would have moved to West Street. It has received at West Street replacement inset & chrome plated metal ends and new 1930s Wheatstone & Co labels and Number mounts. Some later bellows repairs may have been done at H Crabb & Son, whose oval stamp appears on the inner face of each reed-pan. The blued-steel reeds are now in long-scale round-ended brass reed-frames with a use of two smaller sized steel screws securing the tongues. There is now no annular pan-label. No Ledgers survive for this period.

Concertina Summary: C Wheatstone No 23107. An early appearance Wheatstone's "Ĉola" in its standard Octagonal form. This model is a high quality Tenor-Treble 48-Key English system Ĉola, No 23107, from around 1900/05. It has received later replacement inset & chrome plated metal ends and new 1930s Wheatstone & Co labels and Number mounts. The blued-steel reeds are now in long-scale round-ended brass reed-frames with a return to two smaller sized steel screws securing the tongues. There is now no annular pan-label. No Ledgers survive for this period.

Owner or Collection: Concertina Museum, Belper

Maker: C Wheatstone

Maker Links: Concertina, Charles Wheatstone No 23107 http://www.concertina.com/wheatstone/index.htm

Wheatstone Ledgers Link: No Ledgers survive for this period: the last of the Wayne Ledgers is contained in an old Diary, but only lists instruments made up to serial number 21353, made on December 22nd 1891. The next Ledger in the Dickinson Series, lists instruments from Serial Number 25001, made in May 1910. For details of the Ledgers, visit www.horniman.info/. This instrument may date from 1900 - still in the "20 Conduit Street" period, or as late as 1905, when manufacturing would have moved to West Street.

Region of Manufacture: London

Main Maker's Label Wording: A later 1930s-style scalloped black-on-metal "West Street" Wheatstone label is pinned to the later chrome plated ends, "Manufacturers C Wheatstone & Co, London". The LH end has a similar label, with the Serial Number stamped into a central un-painted rectangular area, with the labelling "C Wheatstone" and "Made in England" above and below the number area.

Principal Serial Number: 23107. The LH end has a later 1930s-style scalloped black-on-metal "West Street" label, with the Serial Number stamped into a central un-painted rectangular area, with the labelling "C Wheatstone" and "Made in England" above and below the number area. Other parts only have the "Batch Number" of the instrument, in this case "60".

System Type: 48-Key Tenor-Treble English system

Source Catalogue No: The Concertina Museum Collection Ref:C-082.






Maker Details

Wheatstone & Co. were founded in 1824, and survived until 1974. In 1975 the company was refounded by Steve Dickinson.

C. Wheatstone & Co was established in London, England by Charles Wheatstone (uncle to Sir Charles and William Dolman Wheatstone) at the beginning of the 19th Century. They moved to 20 Conduit Street, London, England in 1824. After the death of William in 1862, the firm was taken over by Edward Chidley, a distant relation. Edward Chidley died in 1899, and the firm was then controlled by his sons Edward and Percy. In 1905 the firm moved to 15 West Street.

After the death of the younger Edward Chidley in 1943, part of the firm was sold to Besson & Co., who were taken over by Boosey & Hawkes in 1948. In 1958 they moved to Duncan Terrace, Islington, North London. In 1961 the Duncan Terrace property was sold, and the remains of Wheatstone & Co. were moved to the Boosey & Hawkes factory in Edgware, Middlesex. The company ceased trading on the death of its last employee in 1974.

The remains of the company were purchased by Steve Dickinson in 1975.


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The Concertina Museum Collection

Created August 2009 by Neil Wayne
Last Modified 07 February 2012 by Neil Wayne, Chris Flint, Wes Williams

This page created Tuesday 14 February 2012.