Can you date this Delicia?

[knobby]

I’ve been considering a smaller (and cheap) accordion and this Delicia Junior has appeared fairly cheap and local. I’m considering going to have a look and pulling it apart to inspect it internally, but before I do can anyone give me an idea of how old this accordion may be?
Tia.

 

[debra]

I only date women, not accordions...
This could easily be 50 years old, but may be younger, between 30 and 40 years.
The bellow corners seem to have problems (some taped over?) and old Delicia accordions do not have a very good reputation, and such a small one certainly not. It would be a safer bet to get a similar Hohner or Italian accordion. I for instance have a 60 year old Crucianelli 40-bass (8x5, with a row doing double duty as 7th and diminished) and plays as well as when new. Such an accordion would be a safer bet.

 

[knobby]

Thanks @debra
Smaller Italian accordions aren’t easy to come by and seem to command high prices. I’ll keep my eye out for a Hohner.

 

[tcabot]

The great thing about dating an accordion is that it really doesn't mind if you're dating another squeezebox at the same time.

 

[Vladimir M.]

can anyone give me an idea of how old this accordion may be?

Please:

• Turn the accordion over and look from the back at the top of the diskant corpus next to the bellows.
• You will see a sequence of letters and numbers like this:

• The year of manufacture is given by the two numbers after the letters "OTK" (In the example I have given, it is 1976).

The production of these instruments was in the 1970s. This is an instrument designed for the youngest (beginning) children, the lightest and with the cheapest (Czech) reeds inside. However, it can be a great alternative in adverse conditions (cold, humidity). Delicia primarily produced vast amount of cheap, affordable instruments for mass, undemanding entertainment (playing). And therefore:

old Delicia accordions do not have a very good reputation, and such a small one certainly not.

...especially if you expect high quality for cheap money: If you pay with peanuts, you buy a monkey....

It would be a safer bet to get a similar Hohner or Italian accordion.

It would be always safer to check the internal technical condition of an instrument before purchasing it. Then decide whether you like the sound of it. And finally, of course, you can judge whether you like the brand image of the instrument.

I’ll keep my eye out for a Hohner.

... you will need to use your eyes primarily to inspect the inside of (any) instrument...

Best regards, Vladimir

 

[cat]

I have that same box. Unfortunately I know nothing of its provenance nor manufacture. I  can however say that i quite enjoyed its play (it's mostly worn out now) - quite a lovely bass, especially compared with small Hohner boxes.