Accordion

Unknown

1870–80 · Various materials · Musical Instruments

Russia has a strong hand harmonica tradition, that of the garmonika, which comprises not only the accordion but also a variety of other types. Among them is the tscherepaschka, a small hand harmonica with the setup of the very early Viennese accordions, furnished with five to seven keys and with bass, chord, and air-release buttons. The instrument shown here—a semiklapanka (with seven keys)—is pitched in A (sounding g-sharp) and has the tonal system corresponding to the accordion to the left. One difference, however, is that the lowest note sounds at suction. The tscherepaschka was popular in Russia toward the end of the nineteenth century but fell out of use in the twentieth.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1870–80

Medium

Various materials

Culture

Russian

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889