restoration

Restoration has begun on my old Alvari Italia, i.e. the three keys on the left have been cleaned up good with some baking soda.

Trying to look into the history of the Alvari, I haven't been able to come up with much reliable information: one story tells of it being a popular accordion in the 1930's, and that the company went out of business by the 1950's. Another story tells of it being a Chinese knock-off product, cheaply made and poor in quality.
The general chat on internet forums is that it is a poor quality instrument.

Still, I'm hoping to get a bit of practise in on it, get a feel for the piano-keyed accordion, and if I like it I can save up for a new one. Those bad boys aren't cheap!