Looking for info on my uke

tdeb

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Hi all. New member and I haven’t touched a ukulele in about 55 years. Several years ago my brother in law was clearing out his dads basement and found this ukulele. He was going to throw it out as one tuner was missing and it had no strings. I play finger style guitar and he asked if I wanted it. I said sure and put it in my closet for 3 or 4 years but never really looked at it. Last week I picked it up and looked it over. It appears to be all mahogany but not sure what the fretboard is. The saddle and nut are dark brown and show some wear but are not damaged. The only damage is the missing tuning peg and 2 cracked tuning keys. Imprinted on the back of the headstock is:

UG LYON & HEALY MAKERS CHICAGO U.S.A. WASHBURN

I can’t see find a serial number.
I Googled Lyon & Healy and it appears they now only make harps. I ordered new tuners and strings and will try to learn to play it. Anyone have any more information on this?
 

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That's a nice little instrument, well worth a bit of TLC, and deserves to be played.

John Colter
 
Keep it, replace the tuners, even an inexpensive set is as upgrade. I use Worth BM strings on my vintage ukueles.
 
At the end of the 19th century, L&H was the largest musical instrument manufacturer in the world. They reserved the Washburn name for the top of their guitar/banjo/mandolin/ukulele line. In the early 1920s they largely "dressed down" (i.e. less bling) the Washburn instruments, but the Washburn name still appeared on those made with the finest woods. The UG stamp on your headstock places yours between 1922-1925.

In the late 1920's L&H sold off their string instrument division (except for harps) in its entirety to JR Stewart. As you found, the harp company persists today. The Great Depression wasn't kind to the Washburn brand and it folded before WW2. The Washburn brand was revived by a completely unrelated company decades later.

For a thorough history of Washburn/L&H, there is no better reference than Hubert Pleijsier's Washburn Prewar Instrument Styles (ISBN 978-1574242270).
 
At the end of the 19th century, L&H was the largest musical instrument manufacturer in the world. They reserved the Washburn name for the top of their guitar/banjo/mandolin/ukulele line. In the early 1920s they largely "dressed down" (i.e. less bling) the Washburn instruments, but the Washburn name still appeared on those made with the finest woods. The UG stamp on your headstock places yours between 1922-1925.

In the late 1920's L&H sold off their string instrument division (except for harps) in its entirety to JR Stewart. As you found, the harp company persists today. The Great Depression wasn't kind to the Washburn brand and it folded before WW2. The Washburn brand was revived by a completely unrelated company decades later.

For a thorough history of Washburn/L&H, there is no better reference than Hubert Pleijsier's Washburn Prewar Instrument Styles (ISBN 978-1574242270).

wow - what a cool story! looking forward to hearing/seeing how it sings once you get new tuners!
 
At the end of the 19th century, L&H was the largest musical instrument manufacturer in the world. They reserved the Washburn name for the top of their guitar/banjo/mandolin/ukulele line. In the early 1920s they largely "dressed down" (i.e. less bling) the Washburn instruments, but the Washburn name still appeared on those made with the finest woods. The UG stamp on your headstock places yours between 1922-1925.

In the late 1920's L&H sold off their string instrument division (except for harps) in its entirety to JR Stewart. As you found, the harp company persists today. The Great Depression wasn't kind to the Washburn brand and it folded before WW2. The Washburn brand was revived by a completely unrelated company decades later.

For a thorough history of Washburn/L&H, there is no better reference than Hubert Pleijsier's Washburn Prewar Instrument Styles (ISBN 978-1574242270).

Thanks for the information. I can't believe it's almost 100 years old :D I installed the tuners and strings yesterday. The knot pulled through the bridge slot on the A string so I put a tiny bead on the string and it works fine. Learning chords now. (Like a guitar with capo on the 5th fret)
 
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