the concertina maker

the concertina maker

i've always been intrigued by this storefront across the street from my flat. i had visions of mr. (or ms?) h. crabb in the back room happily testing his custom-made concertinas, perhaps even singing aloud, half-reluctant to sell his precious instruments. the storefront has long been shuttered, and i suspect coveting his concertinas was mr. crabb's demise.

then, last week, i came home late one night and h. crabb's shop was glowing, transformed into a gallery with a familiar american face to come home to when i stumble back to my borough after one too many doubles of glenfiddich.

after a quick google search, i learned mr. crabb was an esteemed concertina maker, acccording to a concertina FAQ: Another concertina maker of note was Crabb, who started up about the same time as Jeffries, but whose company lasted the longest of all, sadly finishing in 1989 with the death of Neville Crabb.

about concertinas: many moons ago, a boyfriend and i spent the day on an oyster skipjack in the chesapeake bay, and the skipper, a leathery man in docksiders, entertained us with tunes on his concertina. later, that boyfriend wove a concertina into a story he wrote, so when i see the word 'concertina,' i think of him.