Free Reed Instruments at the Horniman Museum

Unique to the Horniman Museum is the collection of over 600 concertinas and related European free reed instruments. This was purchased with the generous support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and the MGC/Science Museum PRISM Fund.

The core of the collection consists of 127 instruments created by Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875), the inventor of the concertina. Wheatstone's prototype concertinas which he was producing by the 1830s, and his patent models, are featured in the collection. The work of other British and continental makers is also represented. The collection includes an extensive archive, including the Wheatstone factory daybooks and diary ledgers reproduced here.

If your computer is currently connected to the internet, you can go to the Horniman Museum website by clicking on the first button below. Otherwise, click on the "Wheatstone & Co. Concertina Ledgers" button to go to the home page for the Wheatstone concertina ledgers, or click on the "Back" button to go back to the page you were last viewing.