Vintage luthier build instruments..

I would say the last few years have been amazing in terms of number of and quality of work by luthiers.
We hear about ukuleles from 1920/30.. etc but mostly these are small size companies at best..
Can some one more knowledgable throw some light about the luthier scene in the past? Or did all luthier shops graduate to being large companies?

This is a very interesting question... where are all the great luthier-made ukuleles from the mid 20th century? Surely some must exist, right? Who can tell us about this?