Aoliandorian

I agree with Martin that the term Melodeon is   mainly used in England for 2 or 3 row button accordions. The irish reserve the term for the one row instrument. Cajun people call the one row an accordeon and at the end of the day accordion is more or less the generic term   used worldwide with sometimes an additional informative description such as continental chromatic, piano, diatonique, british chromatic etc.

Jimmy Shand owned & played several boxes ranging upwards from a C#D Hohner Erica. (a black one). His early recordings (1933 on) were made on a 2 row BC hohner organola 36 bass and around 1937/8 he designed ,along with louis morino, hohners chief designer, the Shand Special which was a hand made 40 button BCC# with 105 Bass & of course morino reeds. After the war this was developed into the famous Shand Morino with 5 treble couplers, still 40 button & 105 bass. It was subsequently enlarged to 46 treble and 117 bass (not 120 as many people suppose.)

To the best of my knowledge he did not own a hohner gaelic, which was in esence a poor mans Shand Morino. I have however seen a photo of him playing one owned by a neighbour!)

Incidentally the Hohner Gaelic has 96 bass not 72 ( I have owned 2 of them). The Gaelic is a very nice easy box to play & I have always presumed , rightly or wrongly, that Sir Jimmy had some input into its design.

george