Public Enemy
Well-known member
Ok so here's the deal,
i found a very old Ukulele on Ebay, made in Australia some time between 1920' - 1930's. The ukulele has all of it's patent pending marks and numbers in the sound hole and company logo and shop address on the head stock .
So i did a little research and found that not only was this Uke famous ( In Australia, as it belonged to a vaudeville family of the time) but there were only about 10 of these Ukulele's made and all for this vaudevillian family.
In the mean time i have bid and won the Ukulele for around $50.
Some further research lead me to the Sydney Powerhouse museum where there are 3 of these Ukulele's on display.
( please be advised that at this time this is my first ever venture into buying and old/vintage Ukulele, I love to play and have 5 Ukes none over 3 years old )
Without view the uke, the Museum has valued it at over $7,000 ( yep, had to pick myself off the floor after that little nugget of gold)
Now for the question .....
The Uke has no strings and is a soprano size but a lot wider in the body, how do i tell, if it even makes a difference, whether it was made for C or D tuning?
Mainly i want to make sure the right strings go on it so not only will it look great but it will sound great too !
In the mean time the museum has offered to restore the uke if it can be used in displays or exhibitions from time to time
Any help is greatly appreciated
Public Enemy
(Steve)
i found a very old Ukulele on Ebay, made in Australia some time between 1920' - 1930's. The ukulele has all of it's patent pending marks and numbers in the sound hole and company logo and shop address on the head stock .
So i did a little research and found that not only was this Uke famous ( In Australia, as it belonged to a vaudeville family of the time) but there were only about 10 of these Ukulele's made and all for this vaudevillian family.
In the mean time i have bid and won the Ukulele for around $50.
Some further research lead me to the Sydney Powerhouse museum where there are 3 of these Ukulele's on display.
( please be advised that at this time this is my first ever venture into buying and old/vintage Ukulele, I love to play and have 5 Ukes none over 3 years old )
Without view the uke, the Museum has valued it at over $7,000 ( yep, had to pick myself off the floor after that little nugget of gold)
Now for the question .....
The Uke has no strings and is a soprano size but a lot wider in the body, how do i tell, if it even makes a difference, whether it was made for C or D tuning?
Mainly i want to make sure the right strings go on it so not only will it look great but it will sound great too !
In the mean time the museum has offered to restore the uke if it can be used in displays or exhibitions from time to time
Any help is greatly appreciated
Public Enemy
(Steve)