My brother-in-law ANDY RAMONIAC acquired an accordion and he’s trying to identify it. I suggested that I post the pictures here and harness the power of the “Lazyweb” — maybe someone out there can tell us what its make is.
Here’s what is known about the accordion:
- It has a two-octave piano keyboard and 12 bass buttons.
- It says “Made in Italy” on the back and “Castelfidardo” near the bass buttons, but that Italian city has a zillion accordion makers. You might as well go to a Chinese restaurant and ask for “the dish made with pork”.
- Below the “Made in Italy” marking is the number “123”, which appears to be a serial number.
- Andy thought it was a Fisitalia based on the name with the missing letters, but they told him that they’ve only been around 12 years, and this thing is visibly older.
Can you help ID this squeezebox? Any ideas, clues, hints or suggestions should be posted to the comments or sent to me at joey@joeydevilla.com.
7 replies on “Can You Identify this Accordion?”
Joe,
My guess – and it’s only that – would be Frontalini.
TV
Hi!
It’s definately Frontalini. The broken name plate has the same font as is used in Frontalini accordions. I compared your picture with another picture of Frontalini accordion.
I inhereted a 48 bass Frontalini piano accordion with blue-green mother of pearl on the outer frame with white mother of pearl next to the piano side and the Frontalini badge on it. This instrument dates back to the 1940’s. My late father bought this and played on New Years eves with it in a place called Meiringspoort in the Little Karoo , South Africa on dances. At the time the road through this place was still a dirt road with gates on strategic points. As long as I can remember this road is tarred. I was born in 1957 and this occurred before my birth. I would like to know the value of it. Can anybody help?
Beste Attie,
toevallig het ek self ‘n Trekklavier met 96 bas, groen marmer effek, maar ek kan jou nie help met die oorsprong van joune nie. Wat my wel interesseer is die feit dat jy Attie Barnard is, van oorspronklik die klein Karoo, aangesien my oupa ook Attie Barnard was van Klein Karoo. Hoor graag van jou. groete,m
I have a 12 bass Frontalini piano accordion in excellent condition. I played it as a child but have not touched it in 50 years. It is in excellent condition and I wonder if anyone has an idea of its value.
Thx
Al
Its a frontaline alright, I’m staring at the same kind here. It was passed down to me but I can’t carry a tune in a tub. LOL If I remember correctly my mom bought it new in the late 50’s or early 60’s.
If you look at the space between the last letter and those two lines it would be hard to fit in the “ini”. I have a blue Frontalini 12 bass and it doesn’t have those lines. The grill looks way different too.