Figure 1.-- This quarter plate Daguerrotype shows an unidentified boy with a flutina, an accordion-like instrument. The boy wears a collar buttoning jacket with a white collar. The boy looks tp be 14 or 15 years old. Note the longish hair covering nost of his ears. As with most dags, it is difficult to tell if they were talen in the 1840s or 50s. The portrait is especially interesting because of the flutina.

This quarter plate Daguerrotype shows an unidentified boy with a flutina, an accordion-like instrument. The boy wears a collar buttoning jacket with a white collar. The boy looks tp be 14 or 15 years old. Note the longish hair covering nost of his ears. As with most dags, it is difficult to tell if they were talen in the 1840s or 50s. The portrait is especially interesting because of the flutina. The instrument has two rows of paddle-shaped melody keys, seen vividly within this image. Flutinas were first created in the 1830's by instrument makers such as Charles Buffet in Belgium and Fourneax and Busson in France. They were the most prevalent form of accordion up until the 1870s, when the flutina was superseded by the ''Accordeon Allemande'' (German Accordion), the diatonic button accordion popular today. The boy may or not have played the flutina. Some studios kept them as props. They were seen as dding a little socil sophistication to sitters. We think that this boy may have actully played one because of his finger position.

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Created: 11:54 PM 9/24/2007
Last updated: 11:54 PM 9/24/2007