this specific accordion has all the earmarks of a pre-WW2 build,
but it also has a couple elements that look to be from after
the war ended, so i would speculate the body was made before the war,
production was halted during the war, when they resumed they finished
the ones they had in the warehouse, but used some more modern
methods and materials to finish it. it is a neat looking box..
the Bellows were likely re-taped once
the straps look original
while it does not appear to be overly dried out.. all the
rhinestones seem to still be holding on.. it suffered a few
blows to the keyboard, breaking several tips off
there are still a lot of internationals around, mostly from the 1960's,
big black things.. company was apparently in the sterling height's
suburb of Detroit. one reference states
"The International Accordion Company, founded in Detroit in 1922
by Castelfidardo, Italy, native Nazzarreno Zoppi".
and a son, Gus Zoppi i believe, ran the company eventually.
i believe they both made some and imported some accordions
under their name and several other names too
it will need restoration to be useful and playable, and repair work
could easily far exceed it's value.. the only viable course of action
will be to have it evaluated by a professional in person, hands on..
you might hit them up and take it to a meeting sometime,
but their website hasn't been updated in a couple years so i don't know
if they are still going or not
