This might come as a surprise but the Accordion Museum in Canada I once told you about is not the world’s only accordion museum. There are actually several in existence. Because apparently the world needs as many accordion museums as humanly possible. Or should I say musically possible?
The New England Accordion Museum is housed in the garage of one man’s residence in Canaan, Connecticut. That man, Paul Ramunni, opened his museum four years ago after obsessively acquiring more than 400 accordions, flutinas, and concertinas dating from 1820 to the present day. Many have been customized to suit their owners, like ones with mounted portraits, names or decorations. He also has other related artifacts and memorabilia, including autographed photos of well-known accordionists. Even though A World of Accordions Museum in Wisconsin has a larger venue, Ramunni technically has the largest private accordion collection. So take that, Wisconsin!
One of his more unusual accordions is a Hohner “Ecohorn” button accordion from 1905, which was used to amplify the accordion sound. And if you’re wondering what’s the best part about Rammuni’s ever-growing collection, he would tell you it’s the personal stories tied to the musical instruments. Although he purchases some items on eBay and in antique stores, he also receives a number of donations from people who hear about what he’s doing and want to preserve a piece of their personal history. How nice!
