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[pgroff]

Hi all,

I've been interested in the tradition of accordion making that flourished in San Giovanni in Croce, Cremona, Italy from the 1860s to the 1960s. See another melnet thread (link below*) and especially the excellent article (in Italian) on pp. 6 -7 here:

https://www.yumpu.com/it/document/view/16398360/la-lanterna-n80-dicembre-2007-fondazione-sanguanini

Starting this new thread to document in detail the construction of an interesting Savoia Luigi instrument dated 1913 (probably "Giu" for June of that year).  This instrument, which I'll call "SL1913" for short, is shown below next to a smaller Carlo Benvenuti instrument that I've documented previously. SL1913 is very interesting to compare with a later Savoia Luigi accordion from the Oriwohl collection and a Savoia Giorgio accordion (seemingly from a museum collection?), both of which have been extensively documented online:

Oriwohl "SL1926:"

http://bandonion.info/en/solo,IV-61.htm

"SG:"

https://www.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/09102/_CM_0938815.html



* General thread on the accordion tradition of San Giovanni in Croce, Cremona, Italia:

http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php?topic=13595.0

Carlo Benvenuti mixte in GF#:

http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php/topic,13606

[pgroff]

SL1913 is dated in pencil "Giu 1913."  Note that the reedwork appears very original. In fact the whole instrument, although a little leaky in part from a couple of cracks, sounds remarkably in tune. Reeds are very nicely made with steel tongues on brass plates, in MMM musette voicing with no switches. The basic system is a CFE diatonic melody keyboard (near A 440), with a modified first octave on each row, and a stradella bass. In contrast, the Savoia Giorgio instrument linked above is described as a "chromatic" (possibly retuned from an instrument originally made as a mixte system with diatonic melody keyboard - note that its original diatonic-style air lever has been removed). The Oriwohl Savoia Luigi instrument linked above is described as having its melody keyboard in the keys of A and Eb, if I am reading the german correctly, and has lateral basses.  The Carlo Benvenuti shown above is in GF# with a limited stradella bass.

[pgroff]

I have not cleaned the metalwork on SL1913 so it appears dull at present. The design elements, including musicians and instruments, are frequently seen on the fretted pallet covers of instruments from the San Giovanni in Croce tradition.

[pgroff]

The leather bass-side hand strap has very nice quick-release hardware.  The bass grille also is designed for quick release via four small pins (one missing). This accordion seems to have taken a hit on one of its metal corners that also caused a little damage to the bass grille near the air lever, but in general that wooden grille is in better shape than seen in most century-old Italian accordions!

[pgroff]

Bass grille and bass machine. The bass machine of SL1913 is all hand made, and lacks the pre-fabricated, ready-to-attach construction that is documented in the Oriwohl Savoia Luigi from after the first World War. This change in construction of the bass machine, which is discussed in the captions documenting the Oriwohl Savoia Luigi, is part of the reason I wanted to document SL1913 here on melnet for others to see.

[pgroff]

More detail of the bass machine of SL1913, and a pencil annotation near the bass machine that I haven't deciphered yet. I've often seen names in this location, possibly of the craftsman who made the bass machine (and these names may differ from the names inscribed elsewhere in the instrument or on the label).

[Eshed]

This is both spectacular and fascinating!
Thank you for posting.

[pgroff]

This is both spectacular and fascinating!
Thank you for posting.

Thank you Eshed for your interest!  I tend to think that these posts may not be valued until many years from now; still it's worth the documentation I think, and so much the better if someone is entertained in the present day.

To continue my thoughts on this instrument:

This well-known online chronology of Italian accordion makers at the link below has already been known to contain some errors:

http://www.accordions.com/articles/chronology.aspx


 In the context of the SL1913 instrument, I think we can identify two more errors in that chronology.

1) It seems clear that Savoia Luigi was active before the 1922 date listed in that chronology. (scroll down to "1922" at the link cited above)

2) I think that the entry in that chronology for "Sardia Luigi," active from 1911, probably is a mis-transcription for Savoia Luigi.

[pgroff]

Adding to this thread to document another Savoia Luigi, this one a mixte instrument in the keys of C/B with 23 melody keys and 18 basses, dated 1915.  This is very similar in general construction to the 1913 CFE instrument discussed above, and is simiarly voiced in MMM with brass-plate reeds. It adds further evidence that Luigi Savoia was active well before the 1920s.  The three instruments I've studied from this early tradition in San Giovanni in Croce (Benevuti Carlo GF#, Savoia Luigi CFE, and Savoia Luigi CB) all have different home keys and slight differences in layout, but all have very similar (and somewhat unusual) layouts of the first octave of melody buttons for the home key and for the row that is a semitone below the home key.