And no, sorry Ian, CW's patent does not use the word Concertina. It covers a series of improvements to 'Wind Musical Instruments', especially the aeolina or mouth organ. It does suggest the use of bellows, and includes a very concertina-like sketch, but what CW is claiming as his patent is the arrangement of buttons ('studs') and linking levers that enable reeds to be packed into a smaller and more portable instrument.

Also of interest may be the following quote from here:

'. . . the modern Western free reed is rather different to those used in traditional Asian instruments. How this difference came about is unclear, despite being a point of great importance. The positioning of the reed above the slot, rather than reed and reedplate being cut from one piece of metal and lying in the same plane, is the reason that the Western-style free reed can sound a given pitch without the need for an additional resonator. This is what makes it possible to have a dozen, or even a couple of hundred reeds in a small portable musical instrument - portability being a key factor in the worldwide popularity of the harmonica and accordion. Important as this point is, it is something overlooked by almost all histories of free reed instruments, Russian accordion historian Alfred Mirek being the only exception I have so far found. In his Reference Book on Harmonikas, Mirek has one small paragraph which credits Russian organ builder and associate of Kratzenstein, Franz Kirschnik (Kirsnik) as being the person responsible for this innovation. It remains unclear whether he had merely adapted the earlier type of free reed, or whether he had come up with the idea completely independently. Whichever it was, the new reed was quickly adopted by organ builders in the late 1700s and inspired a whole range of novel instruments in the 1800s.'

Nevertheless, this design of free reed is also claimed in CW's patent of 1829 as his invention. Perhaps he thought of it independently, without knowing of the Russian work.

Interesting. Good thread, Guran. I'm beginning to like it!

Andrew