Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Andrew Culwell]

Hello all,
I recently was given this box and am mystified by it.  The accordion is tuned Bb/Eb is in fine fettle on the exterior and bellows wise.  My friend says the voicing rocker switch on the back of the keyboard is very similar to the Old three voice Paolo's he has seen.  There is no exterior branding except the "Made in Italia" engraved on the top of the keyboard.  It's a lovely light green color.  I haven't opened it up yet but wanted to get some pix up so as to let some folks have a shot at identifying this gorgeous box! 

[Andrew Culwell]

More shots!

[Andrew Culwell]

And more!

[Christopher K.]

Drew, that's the same box as the one you thought was a Supertone from the "auction of the century" isn't it?

[Andrew Culwell]

Yes you got me there.  When that auction went up I contacted a friend of mine who is a huge collector of the wood Paolo's and old boxes in general.  He doesn't have a computer so he has no way to use Ebay.  He had me proxy bid for those boxes and won them.  He was so happy with the haul that he gave me the most modern box in the bunch.  Which as you surmised is this beauty!

[pgroff]

Hey Drew,

Congratulations on some great teamwork!

I can't say for sure who made your new beauty but will enjoy seeing the interior pics when you post some.

PG

[Lars]

Hi Drew,

Lovely looking box there. To me, it SCREAMS Paolo Soprani. No doubt. The construction of the box, the grille design, the white-black bellow frames, the sliding coupler, and the pointed design of the frame on the front (where you'd expect a brand name) are all features seen on Paolo Sopranis. Same goes for the air button design, and the layout of the bass cover holes.

Mind you: A friend of mine recently got a 21 button 8 bass Crucianelli with the same features inside out as a Paolo - so good reason to think the Castelfidardo crowd was (yet again) helping eachother out.

Here's a CBA which shares many of the features:

[pgroff]

Hi Drew,

Lovely looking box there. To me, it SCREAMS Paolo Soprani. No doubt. The construction of the box, the grille design, the white-black bellow frames, the sliding coupler, and the pointed design of the frame on the front (where you'd expect a brand name) are all features seen on Paolo Sopranis. Same goes for the air button design, and the layout of the bass cover holes.

Mind you: A friend of mine recently got a 21 button 8 bass Crucianelli with the same features inside out as a Paolo - so good reason to think the Castelfidardo crowd was (yet again) helping eachother out.

Hi Lars and Drew,

Well, there are a lot of these interesting unlabeled boxes from the first half of the 20th century.  And then, as Lars points out, sometimes we see very similar boxes that are badged to suggest different manufacturers.  Here are three unlabeled 3 voice boxes.  The one on the right is a slightly more advanced design than your new one, Drew, because the left rear corner of the casework has been designed to be rounded.  And the whole box is very lightweight which is usually a plus!  Another repairman / historian told me about that pink / purple one "definitely Paolo Soprani" -- but there are piano accordions around with exactly the same case construction, celluloid colors, grille pattern, and trim design as that pink/purple one --  some labeled Casali (or other names) and some unlabeled. . .

PG

[Lars]

Wow, Paul - that pink box sure looks swell! Seriously!

Here's the Crucianelli in question - picture from french auction where it was found.

[pgroff]

Hey Lars,

Right back at you.   My 6 year old daughter is a neoimpressionist crayon artist and would love the celluloid on that Crucianelli!

I have seen some really cool Crucianelli-labeled boxes (including some with hand-cut grilles much like the box on the left of my photo above).  Especially like those labeled "Sante Crucianelli," but also some later ones.

PG

[Andrew Culwell]

Well Lars and Paul the gentleman who bid on the dozen or so boxes above thought for sure this was a Paolo Soprani.  He thought the design and markings were very Paoloesque.  Whats interestin Lars is the Black and white piping on that first box you posted.  That is exactly the same design as this box. 

I'm planning on going taking pictures of the Lot of boxes that this gentleman got in that sale.  Will post them here as soon as I can!

[pgroff]

Hi Drew,

I think both Lars and I agree that you will see Paolo Soprani accordions with many of the same features as yours.  However (speaking for myself here), you will also see boxes with no labels, and some with labels other than Paolo Soprani, that have those same features.  IMO this raises a number of questions, but does not prove that Paolo Soprani made them all.  For example, that black and white celluloid trim, or something very close to it, occurs on many boxes with different labels -- and framing the metal grille of the pink / purple no-name box I illustrated.

PG

[Lars]

I certainly second that. The 'Crayola Soprani Crucianelli' being a fine example. Only one thing is certain - Castelfidardo is a small town, and I'm sure a lot of the old guys were having espressos at each others' workshops, sharing ideas and supplies, and perhaps even workers. A bit like Toyota, Peugeot and Citroen sharing a factory making 3 almost identical cars with just a few features and the name to tell them apart.

[Andrew Culwell]

I agree with you Paul.  The gentleman whom you know by the way was making this comparison to his Paolo below, which you will recognize.  I think his contention was the switch in back.  But as Lars and you say Castelfidardo is a small town and I'm sure the companies could be quite incestuous when it came to design and parts.

[Andrew Culwell]

Here is the switch in question

[Christopher K.]

I spotted this similar nameless accordion on Ebay in 2008. Sold for $123 with similar piping, grille, and switch in back of keyboard.