Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

BUTTON ACCORDION

Date Range From

1920

Date Range To

1930

Materials

WOOD, METAL, PLASTIC

No. Pieces

2

Height

37

Length

36.4

Width

20

Description

A. BUTTON ACCORDION, 37 CM TALL X 36.4 CM LONG X 20 CM WIDE. ACCORDION IS BROWN POLISHED WOOD WITH BLACK AND LIGHT BROWN TRIM; ACCORDION HAS BLACK PLASTIC BELLOWS AND SILVER PLATE OVER THREE ROWS OF WHITE BUTTONS AT SIDE; OPOPSITE END OF ACCORDION HAS FOUR ROWS OF WHITE AND BLACK PLASTIC BUTTONS SET IN SILVER PLATE ABOVE BLACK LEATHER STRAP. TOP OF ACCORDION HAS TWO SILVER BASS/TREBLE SWITCHES. BORDERS AROUND BELLOWS HAVE PEAL/TORTOISE SHELL INLAID. ACCORDION IS MISSING BUTTON FROM FOURTH ROW OF BUTTONS, AND HAS TWO WOODEN SUBSTITUTE BUTTONS IN SECOND AND FOURTH ROWS. FRONT OF ACCORDION HAS WINDOW ABOVE BELLOWS WITH GLASS PLATE OVER WHITE PAPER AND BLACK TEXT “C. DALLAPE, TRENTO (ITALIA)”. ACCORDION HAS FOUR BRASS FEET ON SIDE WITH FOUR ROWS OF BUTTONS. WOOD IS WORN AT HANDLES AND EDGES; METAL PLATES AND ACCENTS HAVE CORROSION. OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION. B. BLUE COTTON BAG, 72 CM LONG X 53 CM WIDE. BAG HAS HANDLE ATTACHED TO COVER FLAP; COVER FLAP HAS THREE BUTTON HOLES. BAG HAS TWO BLACK PLASTIC BUTTONS ON FRONT ALONG TOP EDGE. BAG HAS PATCHES STITCHED WITH BLACK THREAD ON FRONT UPPER LEFT CORNER, ON BACK IN THE CENTER OF BAG, AND ON THE BACK BESIDE LEFT CORNER OF HANDLE. BAG IS TORN IN LOWER RIGHT CORNER AND FRAYED; BAG IS TORN ALONG LEFT AND RIGHT EDGES AND ON FRONT AT UPPER RIGHT EDGE; BACK HAS TORN HOLES AT BOTTOM. OVERALL GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

MUSICAL T&E

Historical Association

HOME ENTERTAINMENT

LEISURE

History

ON MAY 22, 2018, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED LESLIE MORTON REGARDING HER DONATION OF A BUTTON ACCORDION. THE ACCORDION WAS OWNED AND PLAYED BY MORTON’S GRANDFATHER, GIUSEPPE (JOSEPH) "FABRO" BRIDAROLLI, AND WAS LATER OWNED BY HER UNCLE, SYLVIO "SYL" BRIDAROLLI, BEFORE BECOMING IN HER POSSESSION. MORTON DISCUSSED HER MEMORIES OF THE ACCORDION IN HER HOME, STATING, “IT’S A BUTTON ACCORDION…THERE’S BUTTON ACCORDIONS AND PIANO ACCORDIONS, AND I PLAY THE PIANO. IF I HAD A PIANO ACCORDION, I COULD AT LEAST PICK OUT THE NOTES BECAUSE I COULD READ THE MUSIC. THIS IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT. YOU HAVE TO BE A REAL MUSICIAN TO PLAY A BUTTON ACCORDION BECAUSE IT IS TOTALLY BY EAR. THERE’S THE MELODY SIDE AND THE CHORD SIDE AND YOU JUST DO IT BY EAR. IF YOU LISTEN TO HIS TAPE [IN ARCHIVES]…HE WAS JUST TURNING 81 WHEN HE MADE THIS TAPE AND HE WAS TRYING TO REMEMBER SOME OF THE SONGS HE KNEW. ONE CAME OUT REALLY GOOD AND THEN HE GOT THE MELODY OF SOMETHING. HE WAS PICKING IT OUT AND HE WAS INTO THINGS HE WAS MORE FAMILIAR WITH. HE WAS VERY MUSICAL AND HAD A REAL EAR. IT’S SORT OF LIKE AN IRISH BUTTON ACCORDION BUT NOT QUITE. IT’S BIGGER.” “WHAT I REMEMBER [MY GRANDPARENTS] TELLING ME IS WHEN HE WAS HERE, HE HAD IT MADE FOR HIM IN ITALY AND IT WAS SENT OVER TO CANADA WHEN HE LIVED HERE. I ALSO UNDERSTOOD HE PLAYED IN ITALY BUT THIS ACCORDION WAS MADE FOR HIM THERE AND SENT OVER [IN THE 1920S].” “IT’S A TREASURE. I WOULD SAY OF ALL THE THINGS I FOUND IN MY PARENTS’ HOME AND ALL THE THINGS I’VE HAD TO FIND HOMES FOR, ALL THE THINGS THAT WOULD REMIND ME OF MY CHILDHOOD, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. EVER. IT EVOKES REALLY STRONG MEMORIES. THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MUSIC IN A FAMILY. IF YOU CAN MEET TOGETHER AND YOU CAN SHARE MUSIC, WHICH OUR FAMILY DID, IT LEAVES AN IMPRESSION THAT YOU DON’T EVER FORGET.” “[THE ACCORDION] REALLY WAS FOR MY GRANDFATHER [GIUESEPPE “JOSEPH” BRIDAROLLI]. IT WAS FROM HIM. THAT’S WHERE THE [LOVE OF] MUSIC CAME FROM FOR ALL [MY FAMILY].” “WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL, WE WOULD GO OVER TO [MY GRANDPARENTS’] HOUSE AT 909 - 8TH STREET NORTH, [MY GRANDFATHER] ALWAYS PLAYED. HE’D JUST SIT IN HIS KITCHEN AND HE’D PLAY SOMETHING FOR US. HE WOULD SIT ON A BENCH BY THE BACK DOOR OUTSIDE AND HE WOULD PLAY SOMETHING FOR US. AT CHRISTMAS, MY GRANDPARENTS WOULD COME OVER [TO OUR HOME] AND HE WOULD PLAY THE ACCORDION. MY MOTHER WOULD PLAY THE VIOLIN, MY SISTER THE PIANO. SHE WAS BETTER THAN ME AND WE WOULD ALL SING CAROLS. FOR MY UNCLE IT WOULD BE THE SAME. HE ALWAYS WAS THERE PLAYING HIS ACCORDION. WHEN MY UNCLE AND AUNT CAME TO VISIT, IT WAS THE SAME THING. HE’D PLAY.” ON HER FAMILY’S HISTORY AND CONNECTION TO THE ACCORDION, MORTON ELABORTED, “[MY GRANDFATHER] STOPPED WORKING IN THE MINES IN THE FIFTIES. HE WAS STILL DOING IT IN THE FIFTIES. WHEN THEY CAME OVER FOR SUNDAY DINNER OR WE WENT OVER THERE [MY GRANDFATHER WOULD PLAY]. [WHEN] MY GRANDMOTHER WAS WELL ENOUGH, WE WOULD ALTERNATE [HOMES FOR DINNERS]. THEN WHEN IT GOT HARDER FOR HER [SUNDAY DINNER] WAS ALWAYS IN OUR HOME. I MADE A TAPE WHEN MY PARENTS WENT TO INDIA IN 1971, AND THAT’S WHEN MY UNCLE GOT MARRIED AS WELL. WE CORRESPONDED BY CASSETTE TAPE. THAT SOUNDS VERY ANTIQUATED NOWADAYS. THERE WAS NO EMAIL. PHONES WERE DIFFICULT WHEN YOU TRIED TO PHONE INDIA AND [WE] HAD TO YELL INTO THE PHONE. SO WE DECIDED TO MAKE CASSETTE TAPES…I WENT DOWN SEPTEMBER THE 5TH, 1971…AND I HAD HIM PLAY THE ACCORDION SO THAT I COULD SEND THIS TAPE TO MY PARENTS. [THIS TAPE HAS] HIS VOICE A LITTLE BIT IN THE BACKGROUND AND MINE A TINY BIT BUT IT’S HIS MUSIC THAT’S IMPORTANT. IT WAS SENT OVER TO INDIA FOR THEM AND WE’VE KEPT IT EVER SINCE. HE DIED IN ’72 AND WE PLAYED THAT ACCORDION TAPE A HUNDRED MILLION TIMES. MY UNCLE ALSO HAD ONE OF COURSE. HE WAS ALWAYS PLAYING. MY MOTHER TELLS A STORY, ALTHOUGH IT’S NOT A FAMILY ONE BUT SHE SAID THAT FRIENDS OF HIS, WHEN IT WAS THEIR BIRTHDAY, HE WOULD GO OVER SIT UNDER THEIR WINDOW AND HE WOULD PLAY THE ACCORDION. HE WOULD PLAY AT GATHERINGS OF THE ITALIAN COMMUNITY. HE PLAYED AT DANCES.” “MY GRANDFATHER WAS BORN SEPTEMBER 7TH 1890 AND MY GRANDMOTHER [MARIA BERTE] WAS JANUARY 9TH, 1893. THEY WERE FROM CAVENDINE, ITALY, WHICH IS IN THE PROVINCE OF TRENTO AND THAT’S WHERE THIS ACCORDION WAS MANUFACTURED…THEY WERE VERY POOR OVER THERE…I FOUND A PAPER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FAMILY DOCUMENTS THAT, I DON’T SPEAK ITALIAN, BUT IT LOOKED LIKE A POVERTY DOCUMENT THAT HAS MY GRANDFATHER—HIS FATHER’S NAME ON IT. THEY WERE VERY POOR AND THEY WOULD HAVE COME HERE TO MAKE A BETTER LIFE FOR HIS FAMILY.” “I UNDERSTAND THAT MY GRANDFATHER CAME OVER BY HIMSELF PRIOR TO 1920. HE WAS IN LETHBRIDGE AND SIZED THINGS UP. HE WENT BACK TO ITALY AND GOT MARRIED TO MY GRANDMOTHER IN 1920. MY MOTHER WAS BORN OVER THERE. IT WAS 1924, IN OCTOBER WHEN HE BROUGHT HIS WIFE AND HIS YOUNG DAUGHTER, ANN, OVER. THEY CAME ON A BOAT AND LANDED IN THE MARITIMES, AND THEY MADE THEIR WAY TO LETHBRIDGE. THEY STARTED IN COALHURST FOR A SHORT WHILE…AND THEN THEY MOVED TO LETHBRIDGE. MY UNCLE WAS BORN HERE IN 1926.” “I CAN GUESS [MY GRANDPARENTS MOVED TO SOUTHERN ALBERTA] BECAUSE [OF] MILLIE LUCIANI—THERE WERE BERTE FAMILIES HERE AND MY GRANDMOTHER WAS A BERTE. MILLIE LUCICANI’S FATHER[WAS A BERTE AND HE WAS A COUSIN OF MY [GRAND]MOTHER] … THERE WAS COMMUNICATION THERE THAT THIS WAS THE PLACE TO COME BECAUSE THEY WERE ALREADY HERE.” “WHEN MY GRANDFATHER DIED IN 1972, I HAD THIS ACCORDION AND THEN, AT A CERTAIN POINT I GAVE IT TO MY UNCLE, HIS SON, SYL. HE HAD IT IN FERNIE THEN IN MERRITT. HE DIED IN 2011 AND MY AUNT SENT IT TO ME. WE TALKED ABOUT LEAVING IT TO THE MUSEUM BUT I DIDN’T WANT TO LET GO OF IT YET. WHAT HAS SPURRED IT ON IS THAT THERE IS NOBODY ELSE TO PASS IT ON TO.” “I WAS GIVEN THIS BECAUSE, WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL I JUST LOVED IT. HE PLAYED AND I LOVED IT. MY UNCLE LOVED IT TOO, HE DIDN’T LIVE HERE AND BECAUSE IT WAS EASY AND MY PARENTS HAD TO LEAVE FOR INDIA, I GOT IT TEMPORARILY. IT DID BELONG MORE TO MY MOM AND MY UNCLE THAN TO ME, BUT I HAD IT FIRST FOR QUITE A WHILE.” “MY SISTER AND I WERE TALKING AND WE THOUGHT, WELL REALLY IT WAS MORE [OUR UNCLE’S] THAN OURS. THAT’S WHY [I GAVE IT TO HIM]. BY GOING TO ME IT WENT TO MY MOM AND SHE WAS THE ELDEST. BUT WHEN MY MOTHER WAS GETTING REALLY SICK AND HE WAS COMING TO VISIT HER AND SHE WASN’T GOING TO LIVE, THEN IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT IT GO TO THE NEXT PERSON WHICH REALLY WOULD BE MY UNCLE. WE THOUGHT IT WAS THE RIGHT THING AND HE WAS ENCHANTED. IT WAS REALLY HIS AT THAT POINT.” “I WANTED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT SO I TRIED, BUT I HAD ARTHRITIS IN MY SHOULDERS SO I COULDN’T. I WOULD TAKE [IT] OUT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE AND TRY TO PLAY “SILENT NIGHT”. I JUST TOOK IT WHEREVER I WENT AND TRIED TO LOOK AFTER IT.” “IT WOULD BE [ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN MY HOME] AND I’M SURE FOR MY UNCLE TOO. PICTURES ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO OUR FAMILY AND TO ME. I KNOW TO MY UNCLE SYL AS WELL THIS WOULD BE [IMPORTANT] BECAUSE WE ALL REMEMBERED [MY GRANDFATHER] PLAYING ALL THE TIME. HE NEVER SAT DOWN WITHOUT IT ON HIS LAP. TO MY UNCLE IT WOULD BE EVEN STRONGER BECAUSE, OF COURSE, HE GREW UP WITH HIS FATHER PLAYING THE ACCORDION.” “MY GRANDPARENTS HAD TWO CHILDREN, MY MOTHER ANN, AND HER BROTHER SYL. SYL NEVER HAD ANY CHILDREN, THEY ADOPTED A GIRL ONCE BUT THAT WAS LONG AGO [AND] SHE’S OUT OF THE PICTURE. THERE’S MY AUNT, HIS WIFE, AND THERE’S ME. MY PARENTS HAVE PASSED AWAY AND MY SISTER, LAUREL, PASSED AWAY IN 2009 IN GENEVA. IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY THIS BRIDAROLLI FAMILY WILL CARRY ON. THE ANDERSON FAMILY [MY FATHER’S FAMILY] THERE WERE EIGHT OF THEM. THERE’S NOBODY ELSE. THERE’S ME AND I FEEL A LITTLE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE IT’S POSSIBLE THAT THE JOSEPH BRIDAROLLI FAMILY IS IN SOME WAY REMEMBERED. MY GRANDFATHER WAS A COAL MINER IN LETHBRIDGE AND HE ALSO WAS A PART OF THE ITALIAN COMMUNITY AND THEY WEREN’T RICH; THEY WEREN’T POWERFUL. THEY DIDN’T HOLD POSITIONS BUT I THINK THEIR STORY IS VERY IMPORTANT AS IMMIGRANTS FROM ITALY AND I’D LIKE TO TELL THEIR STORY. THAT’S THE REASON I BROUGHT IT. I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT THAT IN SOME WAY IT IS PERPETUATED BOTH FOR MY UNCLE AND MY MOTHER AS WELL AS HER PARENTS.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES AND THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20180011000-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20180011000

Acquisition Date

2018-05

Collection

Museum

Less detail