Sonola Rivoli R241 - history?

[boomerdan]

Greetings, all,

Ive recently purchased a beautiful Rivoli Model R241 piano accordion and I am curious to know its history. Serial number is 15349. I was told by the seller this is from the mid- to late-1940s. It has 41 keys, measuring 17 1/4 from edge of white key to edge of white key. 120 bass buttons.

Heres a youtube video showing the instrument:

Who can provide me with a company history? Serial number info? Unique stories? What little company info exists online, appears to be contradictory.

Much obliged to any who can assist.

Cheers.

boomerdan

 

[Soulsaver]

Hi Dan (?) welcome. Nice little PA - Is it the one in the clip? I'd say later than 1940's in my opinion - prob 1960s.
The accordion manufaturers have amalgamated &/or taken over so many times, in the instances I've tried to find out about serial numbers on Italian accordions, they dont have the records.

 

[JIM D.]

Hi Boomer; The Italian Sonola firm was founded in the mid 30's and continued production until the mid 70's when it was purchased by Guerrini. They were sold here in the US by a New Jersey distributor by the same name. Their pro line of accordions carried the Sonola nameplate and their student lines carried the Rivoli nameplate. I've worked on many Sonola's in the past years and found they were unique in the fact their Rivoli models although of less features were made of the same quality as their pro line of accordions with strong bass machines,quality reeds and excellent fit and finish. From your clip I would say it was made between 1960 and 1970. Also if it was from the 40's to 50's the treble key tops would have turned yellow by now. In the 60's they switched from cellulose to a plexiglass type of keytop that will remain white with age. Musically yours; JIM D.

 

[Tom]

Hey Dan,

I don't really know much about them except that I have a Sonola Rivoli student "women's" model, smaller version in red, probably about the same time period. I think it's a pretty basic model but decent quality and sound, I really like it a lot and hope you get a lot of enjpyment from yours, whatever the vintage. Tom

 

[thomasp48]

Hi Boomer; The Italian Sonola firm was founded in the mid 30's and continued production until the mid 70's when it was purchased by Guerrini. They were sold here in the US by a New Jersey distributor by the same name. Their pro line of accordions carried the Sonola nameplate and their student lines carried the Rivoli nameplate. I've worked on many Sonola's in the past years and found they were unique in the fact their Rivoli models although of less features were made of the same quality as their pro line of accordions with strong bass machines,quality reeds and excellent fit and finish. From your clip I would say it was made between 1960 and 1970. Also if it was from the 40's to 50's the treble key tops would have turned yellow by now. In the 60's they switched from cellulose to a plexiglass type of keytop that will remain white with age. Musically yours; JIM D.

Hello, my R241 measures 16 3/4 inches across the white keys. Do you have any idea how many sizes produced in this model?

 

[JIM D.]

17 in. 18in. & 19in. Your 16 3.4 was called a 17in. in the US. The original sizes were metric and rounded off to inches.

 

[thomasp48]

17 in. 18in. & 19in. Your 16 3.4 was called a 17in. in the US. The original sizes were metric and rounded off to inches.

Thank you very much. I'm about 5'6 1/2" and the accordion doesn't feel too small for me, even though I've played larger ones. Would the 17 1/4" R241 posted above be called 18"?