Henry appears in Petosa Accordions’ 100^th anniversary book

Henry Doktorski with his Petosa bass accordion.

July 2022: Henry served as proofreader for the recently-published book, An American Accordion Story by Joseph Petosa, Jr., which commemorates the 100^th anniversary of the Petosa Accordion Company, and also presents an excellent summary of the history of the accordion in America. Joe Petosa, Jr., the son of Joseph Petosa Sr. and grandson of Italian-American immigrant Carlo Petosa who founded Petosa Accordions in 1922 in Seattle, Washington, inscribed the following in Henry’s book, “Dear Henry, Thank you for your assistance with this book and your support and education of the accordion. Best wishes, Joe Petosa, Jr.”

Henry said, “I’m happy and humbled that my photo and bio appears in An American Accordion Story by Joseph Petosa, Jr., which commemorates the 100^th anniversary of the Petosa Accordion Company, and also presents an excellent summary of the history of the accordion in America. In my bio, Joe Petosa Jr. specifically mentioned some of my contributions to accordion culture, such as: (1) recording Vaudeville Accordion Classics: The Complete Works of Guido Deiro on a Bridge Records double CD release, (2) writing and publishing a biography of the the two brothers Guido and Pietro Deiro (The Brothers Deiro and Their Accordions), and (3) my urtext edition of The Complete Works of Guido Deiro published by Mel Bay. I’m also proud to appear on the same page with great accordionists like Nick Ariondo, Angelo DiPippo, Buckwheat Dural, Jr., Guy Klucevsek, Joseph ‘Joey’ Miskulin, Pauline Oliveros, Stas Venglevski, and others.”

Henry wrote a blurb for Petosa’s advertising: “An American Accordion Story is an informative and well-illustrated historical account of how the accordion earned a special place in our American musical culture. It is also a celebration of the fulfillment of the American Dream by a talented and hard-working Italian-American immigrant family that figured prominently in the early twentieth century (and still figures prominently today) in American accordion culture. Many of America’s leading accordionists, past and present, are honored in this book created by an artisan family that has been lovingly making accordions for the last century. I recommend we all raise a glass in a toast to the publication of An American Accordion Story!”

An American Accordion Story is in coffee table format, has 128 pages, is hardbound, includes 380+ photos, and can be purchased from Petosa Accordions.

To listen to an mp3 file of Henry’s composition, Fughetta on ‘Happy Birthday,’ in which he plays the Petosa bass accordion pictured above, click here.

Cover of Petosa Book.

Inscription by Joseph Petosa, Jr.

Limited Edition card.