This Vast ‘Accordion Man’ collection
goes under hammer in Belfast, ranging from rare antiques to mass-produced concertinas
Co Down man Ken Hopkins repaired, refurbished, tuned and sold accordions for more than 30 years
Ken Hopkins was known as “The Accordion Man.” When he died in November 2024, he left an extraordinary legacy. His house in Comber, Co
Down, was entirely filled with accordions. Some were interesting and some were valuable, but their state of repair varied widely.
Hopkins’ knowledge had died with him, which made it hard for his inheritors to sort through the collection. In December 2024, his son-in-law posted on The Accordionists’ Forum, asking for advice: “I always knew he was a serious collector, but at last count we had close to 800
examples from all over the world.”
For more than 30 years, Ken Hopkins Accordion and Music Services in Belfast had repaired, refurbished, tuned and sold accordions.
There is a rare chance to see antiques in situ at collector’s period Dun Laoghaire pad before they go under hammer.
Kens entire collection of accordions is going under the hammer at Ross’s in Belfast on Wednesday, July 23, beginning at 11am. It ranges from rare antiques and potential museum pieces to modern mass-produced accordions.
“We were astounded by the sheer number of instruments, all in his private house,” says Daniel Clarke of Ross’s. “There
were accordions everywhere!” His colleague, Alec Grant, was given the job of cataloguing the sale. “The amount of room the accordions take up is quite overwhelming,” he says. “So is the breadth of the collection. There are accordions here that people have never seen one like it before.”
The highest estimated accordion in the sale is a Ballone Burini (Lot 7: est £2,000 to £5,000 / €2,320 to €5,600), but
there are many instruments with £10 to £20 / €12 to €23 estimates, some of which are beautiful objects.
“The condition varies a lot,” Grant explains. “With accordions, the way to accurately assess value is based on the condition of the internals.”
The extent of the collection – and the fact that the last accordion
repairman had died – made it hard to value the instruments. “We’ve had to catalogue the collection with no guarantee of condition or playability.”
We’ve had several musicians come in and play them
The solution, if you’re local, is to go to the auction house and try out the instruments in person. “We’ve had several
musicians come in and play them,” Grant says. “But please bring a list of the lots you’re interested in, as it may take us a while to find them.”
The collection is too vast and unwieldy to have everything on display. “We’ve also had a lot of overseas interest from the US, Australia and Switzerland.”
Highlights
include a Dari Constellation accordion, made in Italy, with hand-painted reed blocks (Lot 93: est £800 to £1,000 / €930 to €1,160). “The internal components have illustrations painted on them,” Grant explains. “It’s artisanally created and very rare.”
A concertina made in the UK by Lachenal & Co (Lot 725: est £200 to £300 / €230 to €350) is also a rarity. The company was founded by a Swiss immigrant,
and made concertinas between 1850 and 1936. It comes in its original case and appears to be made for Vaudeville performances, as it can make interesting sounds including duck calls and whistles.
A Settimio Soprani Concert Grand accordion (Lot 100: est £300 to £400 / €350 to €460) was once owned by Gerald Bright (1904-1974).
Known as Geraldo, Bright was a popular British bandleader in the 1930s and 1940s. The instrument is one of only six ever made. “It’s hard to put a value on it,” Grant says. “It’s very rare, but I’m not sure how much that affects its value.”
Most of the interest to date has been in button accordions – the type commonly played in Ireland.
On two occasions, Hopkins was the victim of burglary. In 2012, 30 rare and vintage accordions, worth €24,570 – €36,855, were stolen from his home.
Reportedly, he was duped into leaving his house in by two men who said they wanted to buy an accordion. The men failed to meet him, and Hopkins returned to discover the theft. Twelve of the
missing accordions were found, slightly damaged, in Co Meath, and returned to Hopkins. The others were not recovered.
Ten years later, thieves struck again. In March 2022, 11 accordions with an estimated value of €40,500 were stolen from Hopkins’ home. Hopkins told BBC News NI he did not expect to see the accordions again, and said the thefts were something “you got used to”. Given the scope of his
collection, it’s remarkable the burglars were able to locate valuable and resalable instruments within a short time frame.
If you are interested in purchasing any of the accordions visit https://www.rosss.ie/ which is the Auctioneers website.
