Trying to figure outcthe age and model

[lexbannon]

Good morning everyone,

Please would anyone be able to help me identify the model and age of the Paolo soprani accordian I have inherited. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Alexis]

Hello, I'm sure that on Melodeon.net you can find more information about the accordion, those Paolo soprani usually have many admirers in traditional Irish music, they normally use them in B/C or C#/D. The antiquity is usually discovered by the color of the shield, the shape of the grill and the typography being blue, red, black from oldest to most modern, the most sought after from what I have read are those with the blue shield. Below I copy and paste from Melodeón.net something that I found when I was trying to find the manufacturing date of mine (I have one with the red shield). :

Basic rules: (correct me if I'm wrong)

All years are approx.
1900-1920 Wooden box with open keyboard.
1920's 1930's- wooden box with small buttons, some bare wood, some painted crazy colours
1930's - start of plastic covered cabinet. Large logo either in writing or inlaid in stones. Small buttons.
1940's early 50's- famous greys. Small buttons, the well known small logo, and aluminium grill
mid 50's - about 1960 - red boxes with blue badge
1960's - red boxes with red badge and small lettering "paolo soprani"
1970's - larger lettering of "paolo soprani"
1980's - the end of the "real" paolos, large italic lettering, after mid 80's the boxes were made by bafetti, same name, different instrument.
2000's - jubilee came along.

Hope this can help you. greetings

 

[boxplayer4000]

lexbannon: You certainly have a nice bit of tackle on your hands there. The protective cover on the bass strap might suggest it has not had much use at all.
As Alexis says it will be necessary to establish the tuning of the treble keyboard before you even start to talk to anybody about selling or value.
Each row of buttons on the treble end will give different keys. This can be easily checked by having access to, say, a piano keyboard or one of the many 'on-line' tuners on a mobile phone or computer.

 

[lexbannon]

Hello, I'm sure that on Melodeon.net you can find more information about the accordion, those Paolo soprani usually have many admirers in traditional Irish music, they normally use them in B/C or C#/D. The antiquity is usually discovered by the color of the shield, the shape of the grill and the typography being blue, red, black from oldest to most modern, the most sought after from what I have read are those with the blue shield. Below I copy and paste from Melodeón.net something that I found when I was trying to find the manufacturing date of mine (I have one with the red shield). :

Basic rules: (correct me if I'm wrong)

All years are approx.
1900-1920 Wooden box with open keyboard.
1920's 1930's- wooden box with small buttons, some bare wood, some painted crazy colours
1930's - start of plastic covered cabinet. Large logo either in writing or inlaid in stones. Small buttons.
1940's early 50's- famous greys. Small buttons, the well known small logo, and aluminium grill
mid 50's - about 1960 - red boxes with blue badge
1960's - red boxes with red badge and small lettering "paolo soprani"
1970's - larger lettering of "paolo soprani"
1980's - the end of the "real" paolos, large italic lettering, after mid 80's the boxes were made by bafetti, same name, different instrument.
2000's - jubilee came along.

Hope this can help you. greetings

Thank you so much that is an amazing amount of information. I am sure I will be able to identify it now.

 

[lexbannon]

lexbannon: You certainly have a nice bit of tackle on your hands there. The protective cover on the bass strap might suggest it has not had much use at all.
As Alexis says it will be necessary to establish the tuning of the treble keyboard before you even start to talk to anybody about selling or value.
Each row of buttons on the treble end will give different keys. This can be easily checked by having access to, say, a piano keyboard or one of the many 'on-line' tuners on a mobile phone or computer.

Thanks for the advice. You are right my Dad loved collecting musical instruments and could pretty much get a tune out of anything even though he could not read music. He was able to play by ear, a talent that I sadly did not inherit. He bought this in Ireland in the early 2000's for £1250 ( I have the original receipt) he looked after his belongings very well as you can see by the plastic still being on the straps. He would have played it but not very much.

 

[TomBR]

That "wiggly lines" grille says to me that it's not that old - 1990's at a guess?
As has been said,
- Find out what the notes are on each of the two long rows of buttons.
- Ask the expert folk at melodeon.net

Nice box to have in any case,

 

[Ventura]

Paolo Soprani was long gone by 1990
and the jubilee 2000 ? do the Chinese celebrate Jubileum ?