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Author Topic: Very old Hohner catalog from my collection.  (Read 4879 times)

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Peadar

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Re: Very old Hohner catalog from my collection.
« Reply #20 on: April 20, 2019, 09:55:53 PM »

The echophone looks fun!

I am just wondering what your Hohner 499 looks like - I am currently refurbishing what appears to be a Hohner 490 in Bb.
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Mark Luckasavage

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Re: Very old Hohner catalog from my collection.
« Reply #21 on: April 21, 2019, 12:59:48 AM »

I actually have 3 499's, one for parts in F Bb Eb, one in F Bb Eb just intonation and the one shown was F Bb Eb that I'm currently converting to DGC equal temperament. My dad had a DGC and wanted to have one like he did, little did I know that it's quite an unusual setup so I had to hunt for the D LL reeds and finally found them in Germany. Some things about these boxes that I think are special; the 16 bass/chords with mother of pearl buttons, the time period circa 1930 and the 'H' stamped reeds. What does your 490 look like?
« Last Edit: April 21, 2019, 01:20:26 AM by Mark Luckasavage »
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Peadar

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Re: Very old Hohner catalog from my collection.
« Reply #22 on: April 21, 2019, 02:13:14 AM »

That's lovely.
My 490 looks pretty rough. I think it is one of the earliest models- c. 1908-1910 and was bought off ebay from an antique dealer in Glasgow. The putative date is based on the lettering style- "M. HOHNER in Jungenstil lettering. Complete re-wax and revalve and bellows gaskets are needed as is repaint reface pallets and make a new screen/grille. I am of course starting with the screen rather than anything that will actually make it play better. The reeds are H stamped, brass on zinc plates. I like the aesthetics of the open keyboard- the buttons are mother of pearl all round
« Last Edit: April 21, 2019, 02:40:22 AM by Peadar »
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Mark Luckasavage

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Re: Very old Hohner catalog from my collection.
« Reply #23 on: April 21, 2019, 12:22:15 PM »

Your 490 will be a beautiful box! Good luck with your restoration. Does your bellows have a pattern? My echophone has a clover leaf pattern and being part Irish I love it. I think boxes from this period are works of art. With it's reeds and just intonation they take me back to a time when the world was a lot simpler. Here's the restro of my horn. I'm told my German key of B is really Bb and this key is perfect for clarinet accompaniment. Some people have said it is wrong to restore this as it would destroy the patina but there were dents and bad polishing over the years that bothered me so while fixing the dents I got it polished and added some lacquer. Some day the patina will come back I'm sure. Now you can actually see the etching of the word Echophone and that makes me smile.

BTW, I have 3 donor boxes from this period so if you need any free parts let me know. I don't think I can offer anything you need but wanted to offer anyway!
« Last Edit: April 21, 2019, 12:54:40 PM by Mark Luckasavage »
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Peadar

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Re: Very old Hohner catalog from my collection.
« Reply #24 on: April 21, 2019, 01:09:16 PM »

There is a difference between conservation and restoration- you are doing a restoration job on a rare but not unique instrument. That will make a lot of people smile when you play it.
In any case I am rapidly forming the impression that a lot of the patina on melodeons is condensed nicotine. I am more than happy to scrape that off- and then thoroughly wash my hands.

Thanks for the offer of parts - Apart from the missing grille my box appears complete but the offer is appreciated. If you have a grille from a 490 or a 460 a good photo would help verify detail of the fretwork pattern I am trying to reproduce.
« Last Edit: April 21, 2019, 01:27:12 PM by Peadar »
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pgroff

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Re: Very old Hohner catalog from my collection.
« Reply #25 on: April 21, 2019, 03:09:25 PM »



Thanks for the offer of parts - Apart from the missing grille my box appears complete but the offer is appreciated. If you have a grille from a 490 or a 460 a good photo would help verify detail of the fretwork pattern I am trying to reproduce.

Hi Peadar,

I'm pretty sure I have examples of those models in storage, may well have a wrecked one that can donate a grille to you. But I'm understanding that you would *rather* reproduce the grille yourself?  If so, will do my best to photo it, or could scan it and post or email the scan. It may be a couple of weeks before I can spend the time in my storage space, in the meantime I have to help a couple of hundred students with last lectures and Finals in their courses.

PG
« Last Edit: April 21, 2019, 03:17:21 PM by pgroff »
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Peadar

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Re: Very old Hohner catalog from my collection.
« Reply #26 on: April 21, 2019, 05:46:40 PM »



Hi Peadar,

I'm pretty sure I have examples of those models in storage, may well have a wrecked one that can donate a grille to you. But I'm understanding that you would *rather* reproduce the grille yourself?  If so, will do my best to photo it, or could scan it and post or email the scan. It may be a couple of weeks before I can spend the time in my storage space, in the meantime I have to help a couple of hundred students with last lectures and Finals in their courses.

PG

Hi PG,
Wow! ...and yes please. I would much sooner use a spare from another box if one is available that matches the original pattern- it just never occurred to me that there was any option other than making a new grille, based on matching the engravings in the Hohner catalogues with photographs of surviving boxes and then scaling out from the photographs.

Exam time. Yes I remember that- you will have your work cut out.

Peadar
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Peadar

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Re: Very old Hohner catalog from my collection.
« Reply #27 on: April 22, 2019, 01:37:50 AM »

There is a difference between conservation and restoration- you are doing a restoration job on a rare but not unique instrument. That will make a lot of people smile when you play it.
In any case I am rapidly forming the impression that a lot of the patina on melodeons is condensed nicotine. I am more than happy to scrape that off- and then thoroughly wash my hands.

The bellows paper on my 490 is patterned- Tiny blue flowers, with pale green stems and foliage on a white-ish background. Unfortunately some of the paper is very poor and may have to come off to enable leak proofing of bellows corners.

Thanks for the offer of parts - Apart from the missing grille my box appears complete but the offer is appreciated. If you have a grille from a 490 or a 460 a good photo would help verify detail of the fretwork pattern I am trying to reproduce.
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Broadland Boy

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Re: Very old Hohner catalog from my collection.
« Reply #28 on: April 22, 2019, 01:50:31 AM »

Thanks Peadar for your use of Jungenstil lettering - had heard the term but never bothered to look it up, I did this time and found it the style including  Arnold Böcklin, one of my all time favourite fonts - probably harking back to a Rackham illustrated Grimms Fairy Tales I had as a kid :)
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Kimric Smythe

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Re: Very old Hohner catalog from my collection.
« Reply #29 on: April 23, 2019, 01:22:44 AM »

I have some other books that have some of the odd baas configurations explained and I picked up another vintage melodeon book in Leipzig.
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