This is a Wheatstone 48-Key Tutor Model with brass reeds. It has been fitted with new pads, valves and straps, and tuned to concert pitch (A=440hz). The serial number of this concertina is 20504, which dates it to 1880.)

We had a very similar concertina to this in stock a few months ago, and a customer who came to look at a range of English concertinas up to £1000 ended up choosing the 4-fold brass-reeded Wheatstone over Lachenal steel-reeded concertinas with 6-fold bellows. Obviously concertina tone and playability is a subjective thing, but it gives you some idea how this model can hold up against instruments that, on paper, should be much better. This concertina has really top-quality riveted brass reeds, and plays quickly with a lovely mellow tone. The bellows do not feel like a set of 4-fold bellows usually do, and have more extension in them than you might expect.

There are a couple of very shallow cracks on the fretwork around both thumb straps- a previous owner had replaced the original strap screws with bigger ones which clearly put too much pressure on the wood. They are not structural cracks though, and don’t move.

We really rate these Wheatstone tutor models very highly, and this concertina is sure to be the perfect instrument for somebody.

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