Chemnitzer Concertina History Book

 

The book you have always been looking for.  “The Chemnizter Concertina, A History and an Accolade” by LaVern J Rippley, will make a great addition to your library or a perfect gift for the concertina enthusiast.

 

The professionally published hardcover book features 304 pages of factual information on the history of this wonderful musical instrument.  Read about the people and places behind the instrument and the music that it makes.  There are hundreds of images throughout the book, including dozens of color photographs of       concertinas from the very first prototypes to present-day models.

 

There is also a section dedicated to the World Concertina Congress with a complete list of the Hall   of Fame members.

 

New book details history of Chemnitzer concertina

 

The recently published 300-page hardcover book details the history of the Chemnitzer concertina as it trailed from Saxony in eastern Germany to Chicago and then New Ulm.  Authored by LaVern Rippley, a professor of German at St. Olaf College in Northfield, the book includes seven chapters, the first detailing the 1834-1934 production of the concertina by Uhlig, Arnold and Lang of Germany.  The second chapter covers how the concertina arrived and then thrived in Chicago until the demise of the Patek, Silberhorn and Vitak-Elsnic retail units there.

Chapter 3 shows how the Chemnitzer moved to New Ulm, when Christy Hengel purchased the remainder equipment of the Otto Schlicht factory in Chicago.

Chapter 4 shows how production of the Hengel concertina is continued today by Jerry Minar in New Prague.

Chapter seven is especially inclusive presenting the large number of concertina players in Southern Minnesota.

Included is an index, hundreds of footnotes, and appendix listing all the members of the World Concertina Congress Hall of Fame and a colored Section showing 48 Chemnitzers from the early Uhlig types followed by Star and other models to the current Hengel concertinas.

 

 

 

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