The Hohner Liliput that is on the way

I talked about the Hohner Liliput when I talked about how I always looked for bargains, but I haven't shared much more about it.

If you recall, I decided to swap the one I got from ebay with one already to go at Bellinger's Button Box. They were practically identical. So, this one below is "the one" I'm getting.

Scott does a similar test on all his melodeons, which has made it great to hear the different voices and to compare one type with another. When you listen to this you will notice the voice has a slight tremolo to it, which means it's not completely dry and I'm actually glad about that as it will also give me a different sound between the two boxes I will have (besides being in a different key).

The Hohner Liliput was made between 1935-1940. (The other Hohner on the way was made some time pre-WWII).  From, Gumshoe Arcana:

Accordions accompanied German soldiers and officers to the front. To this end, Hohner designed instruments that were small and lightweight for soldiers to stow easily in a rucksack. Today, the Preciosa and Liliput are much sought after accordions.

Yes, these accordions were specifically made smaller to take to the battlefields. And they are quite amazing to have such a full voice in such a small box. (the Preciosa was made even smaller for the same reason). The smaller size makes it easier, supposedly, to learn to play because you learn to play the bellows and other skills without tiring the player as quickly because it's easier on the back, shoulders, etc with less weight. I hope the smaller buttons don't add complications, but we'll see.

What I find funny about a "rucksack" accordion is that: a. of all the things to carry, even a small accordion would be one of the top things to go on my list! It's added bulk and weight to have to march with and it pushes other things out of the rucksack - like FOOD and blankets! I guess it shows how important having entertainment and comfort on the battlefield mattered.  Also, funny to me is that the accordion is a fairly easily to damage instrument. My grandfather, born in 1900 was a bugler... THAT instrument on the field is much less destructible, of course, it was used for service, not for entertainment... big difference. And I suppose, besides a simple flute and mouth harmonica, a square wooden box is the next "safest" small instrument as fiddles and guitars have shapes that are more prone to breaking and definitely not able to stuff in a rucksack.

Here is more about the Liliputs, this time post war from Melnet from 2009:

I recently played my little Hohner Liliput to my mother who is 83. She immediately recognized the instrument and came up with an interesting story.

Just after the war in the late 40's she went on a walking holiday in the Swiss and Italian Alps guided by a former member of the French Resistance. Apparently whenever they met German hikers in chalets and inns, the German's produced little accordions out of their rucksacks just like the Liliput and played and sang. Given that at that time in history Germans were not the most popular people in Europe, these little accordions did a lot to break down ill will and establish friendship between people who only a year or two before had been killing each other. 

Now that's a nice thing to know about melodeons.

So, how does it play? Here is Pikey playing a nice piece on a Liliput I believe in CF like what is coming to me:

Here's another two, but in BbEb the first one just makes me smile. I think a BbEb will be another voice I will get if I fall in love with playing. I love the tone in this key:

Here is another tune, this Liliput converted to a DG: