1920 Kumalae Uke

This is a c.1920 Kumalae Soprano Ukulele made in Hawaii out of some very nice colorful Koa woods all over. Its excellent overall in very original condition having its original friction tuners, its “Gold Award” headstock logo, its original rare factory label all in its original soft tan gig back complete w/its flip open door…a very nice Use set for sure.  Jonah Kumalae is considered to be the most prolific ukulele manufacturer of his time, producing as many as 300 ukuleles per month at the peak of his business, or possibly as many as 600 per month. In 1911, Kumalae began making ukuleles in earnest, having been a very accomplished musician. His ukuleles were made of Koa wood, brought over from the Big Island of Hawaii. In 1915, Kumalae got a big break in his ukulele manufacturing and sales. He applied for, and won, a bid to display his ukuleles at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915, where his ukulele design won a “Gold Award”. This enabled Kumalae to market and sell his ukuleles to companies on the U.S. Mainland and, according to many ukulele historians, was instrumental in ushering in a ‘new wave’ of ukulele and Hawaiian music popularity. Grab it if you can.