janeray1940
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Here's a link for the history nerds (like myself!) - UH Manoa has been posting scans of old ukulele ads on Flickr. Pretty cool!
UH Manoa Library ukulele ads
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RichM
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OP
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janeray1940
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LOL - every time I read anything about learning to play in one day, I make the same joke: then I must be doing it wrong, since I've been playing daily for years and I still haven't stopped learning how
river_driver
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A day to learn...a lifetime to master!
Thanks for sharing the link!
Thanks for sharing the link!
RichM
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Personally, I think anybody paying $19 for a ukulele is crazy. That's outrageously expensive. I bought the $6.95 uke, and if anything, it's better than the $19 ukes. I think the people buying the $19 ukes are collectors who are keeping them in glass cases.
river_driver
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Now you're being divisive. Just who do you think you are with your fancy $6.95 uke? I bought the $1.75 ukulele. I didn't like the gut strings it came with so I replaced them with my shoelaces. I think everyone should have a $1.75 ukulele strung with shoelaces, it's just as good as a $19 uke.
Pueo
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So $6.95 is the mid-range, and $19.00 is the high-end? Is the $19.00 ukulele really worth it? I mean, it comes with a green felt case and everything!
Roselynne
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To get even frugaller -- rubber bands are cheaper than shoelaces. They also have more sustain, and can be bought in a wide variety of tunings. Durability can be an issue, however. Fortunately, one can usually find them in bulk.
chikon2000
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"Do you ukulele? Try then--It's a New Way to Charm the Men, Borrowed From the Hawaiians. When the dusky Hawaiian maid, by playing on a ukulele, lures the dusky Hawaiian youth out into the beautiful Hawaiian moonlight, she fondly thinks she is doing something no other girl in the world has ever done or will ever do". Wow, who knew?
Roselynne
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Copywriters had a lyrical way with nonsense, back in the day. Seriously, though, the ads and bits are fascinating!
Icelander53
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Where do I order these? The prices seem reasonable.
Bagaag
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Its surprising that none of these ads mention a brand of any kind. I wonder when brands started to matter.
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janeray1940
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Great question! In these and other old ads I've seen, the main thing that seemed to matter was that it was "genuine Hawaiian." I've seen an ad for a 1920s Johnny Marvin uke, but that was more capitalizing on the name of the star rather than the instrument builder.
My armchair-historian guess was that brands weren't so important during the teens and twenties "craze," as with many fads - similar to the way trendy kids buy fashion knockoffs at Forever 21 or whatever today. For more serious musicians, brand may have mattered, but they weren't the target advertising market - it was the college kids and the Christmas shoppers and such that these ads were aimed at.
