I found this one one E-bay.
An accordion from Eddie LeJeune.
Someboudy bought the accordion from eddie after a tour in England.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Handmade-Cajun-Accordion-in-C-from-Eddie-Lejeune_W0QQitemZ260177686745QQihZ016QQcategoryZ16218QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

I hope this one works.

That's one of the more unique eBay offerings I've ever seen. A box by an obscure builder, played by a legend, and sold for a ticket home. Great story behind it and yuh gotta love that color scheme and prism tape!

R!CK

Which one was stolen from him in Europe? His Dad's I believe? Or was that a rumor?

Ervin told me that his dad's was stolen in Europe, but he didnt say who had it when it was stolen.

It was a Sterling that got ripped...

Builder Cliff Mott? The brand: Cajun Pride? (about 12 years ago or older). Tel nr of builder is Lake Charles, I found out. (318-439-3137)
Someone told me that he got 2 accordions stolen in the UK. I never saw any picture of Eddie with an accordion with golden stops. Maybe it is a pimped monarch or pointe noir?

Inspector Gus

Mr. Mott passed away a few years ago. He was the brother-in-law of Mr. Lesa Cormier of the Sundown Playboys. I just looked at the auction. The current price of $465USD, in my opinion, exceeds its value. Cliff built probably 75 to 80 accordions. I have never played one that I would own as my own; however, he was a very generous man and often freely gave his accordions to players.

August Broussard's home burned down in the mid-90s and Cliff gave him three accordions asking nothing in return. August promptly pulled all three of them apart. Cliff repeatedly repaired them free of charge.

August now plays accordions built by Danny Dyson, and to my knowledge, hasn't pulled those apart.

Once again, the Brave net board shows its superior value. Thanks for all the good info. on this and other threads.

My Le Capitaine is 6 years old and perfectly broken in. Doubt if I could ever "pull it apart". My attachment to it deepens with every note. Danny makes a fine box.

Here's one for The Inspector:

Last Summer, while poking around in a pawn shop over on Hwy 171 in Lake Charles, I saw an accordion that was a "Gator Brand". It was so jacked-up with missing reeds and a missing button that it was completely unplayable. Looked like a couple of kids had it in their toy box for a while. Certainly wasn't worth the $400 they were asking for it. But it is the only Gator accordion I've seen. Anyone know who built that one?

R!CK

That would be AJ Gaspard. He passed away last year. He lived two blocks from Cliff Mott. Supposedly Cliff Mott built his first accordion by duplicating parts he acquired from AJ.

Mr. Gaspard was always dear to me. I went to school with his daughter, and he built my first two accordions. He learned from his cousin, Paul Guidry, who builds the "Creole" accordion.

There was a time when AJ's accordions were pretty decent. As he got older, the accordions got worse. The last few years of his life, he produced some pretty awful accordions.

Rick if you are referring to the pawn shop that is at the edge of town heading toward Moss Bluff, then I have had my hands on that accordion. The previous owner lives a few blocks from the pawn shop in an unairconditioned house that is really drafty. He wanted to sell it, and I was looking for something of sentimental value. If I remember correctly, the keyboard buttons were sticking and the top and bottom plates on the keyboard were missing.

By the way, AJ had built maybe 100 accordions before deciding on the name "Gator." Prior to that, there were no identifying marks other than a signature on the inside. The first twenty or so are owned by his family members.

Also, the F accordion that Octa Clark plays on one of his CDs was built by AJ. John Broussard bought it from Octa before he died.

Ganey ~ What an interesting story on that Gator box. The one I saw was in equally bad shape -- could've been the same one, but I believe it was in a pawn shop that was nearest to the corner of Prien Lake and 171* (S. of I-10) -- *I think that's really Hwy 14/MLK. I still get turned around in LC since it seems like all the major streets have more than one name. I can't remember the name of the pawn shop, but they've got lot's of great cookware there. Huge crawfish pots and cast iron stuff, too. I stopped in there a couple of months ago and they had sold the Gator. I was hoping to find another one in better shape!

I'll be down there in a couple of weeks for some turkey. Let's jam!

R!CK

Mr. Ganey:

This is Jerry Broussard, the son of John D. Broussard. Pop bought a B Flat from A.J. Gaspard. There were 3 accordions made from a piece of wood and we have a picture with AJ Gaspard and the piece of wood. On the back is Pop's writing:

"This is the board that was taken out of a barn in Lake Arthur. The wood is called Boi de Arc (Orange Sage). Mr. Gaspard made three accordions with this board. The first one was made for John D. Broussard key of B Flat. The second one for Norris Leger. Key of B Flat. The third one was for Mr. Octa Clark key of F."

I presently am playing the B Flat Pop bought. He never owned an accordion in the key of F. So Octa's is still out there.

I am trying to get in touch with Mr. Jerry Broussard, I am the granddaughter of Mr. Norris Leger and would like to talk about the accordion you speak of on this forum!

-Sarah

So,

there must (have) be(en) a lot of building experience and accordions at the other side of the ocean. Must have been a lot ending in the fire, too?

Thanks Rick, Ganey and others for digging in your memories.

Now the question, why would Eddie Lejeune have brought this kind of accordions to the UK? His favoutite was Pointe noir I heard. And he would never have sold his concert instruments, right?

inspector Gus again

I suspect that he didn't have anything invested in it, and whatever he sold it for was just lagniappe.

I know a guy in Manchester who has a Pointe Noir which he says he bought off Eddie in those circumstances.

That one on ebay might be good enough to carry in the truck cab for a little practice. If it were cheap enough, but I guess any handmade box is going to make a good price, for the import reasons discussed recently.

BJ