Chromatic Piano Accordion

This appeared on Ebay in the US recently but didn't sell (the starting bid was $499)

Look carefully at the piano keyboard for a surprise... yes there are two rows of buttons !

The auction says that it is made by Universal Detroit.

The only other such instruments like this that I've seen are at Karlssons Accordeon Museum.

Link: Previously on Squeezytunes - Karlssons Accordeon Museum

Comments

[Vince]

I recently purchased a similar instrument from a 2nd hand dealer in Los Angeles. It was made in Chicago circa 1920-30 and is a chromatic free base accordian. These were popular in Europe during this period, and there were a lot of European teachers and musicians in the midwest at that time. It has three rows on the keyboard, and is probably what they call C-system, popular in Western Europe. It is not diatonic, and was used primarily for classical music by advanced players as you can cover more octaves in a very short fingering pattern. Impossible now to find either instructions or music for these. I have seen on Italo American Chicago website a photo in their historical section a five row version. These were patterned after the normal 3 and 5 row chromatic button accordians popular in Europe but utilized a piano style keyboard and was not diatonic. It was also a part of a 20th century movement to redesign the piano keyboard and there is a system similar called kartsov which uses the Russian/Eastern European B-chromatic system. In the 20's and 30's there was music available - a lot of French Tango and classical compositions for these instruments. Powerful ranges but I havent been able to deciper it yet on my own.

[Squeezyboy]

Excellent info. Thanks for that Vince.

[ROBERT DUKE]

Ihave a 1920/30,s pickordia piano accordian want to sell it whats it worth.thanks