Ukulele

Ukelele with a waisted body in the in the style of a small Spanish guitar. The back and table are each of one piece of wood, possibly Acacia koa, a wood indigenous to Hawaii. The ribs are of two pieces of similar wood, joined to a bottom block of light brown wood. The headstock and neck are of one piece of wood. The heel is a separate piece of wood, glued to the back of the neck; both are screwed to the top block. Barber’s pole stringing, alternating sections of dark and light brown wood, around the edges and sound hole; with two similarl lengths of stringing arranged in a herringbone pattern along the centre of fingerboard. Eleven metal frets inset into the wooden fingerboard. Four single courses of strings, the two outer of red nylon, the two inner of blue nylon. The rear entrant pegs are of wood with round heads. The strings pass over a wooden nut and are slotted into the wooden tie bridge. The headstock bears the painted coat of arms of the Hawaiian kingdom, with 'HAWAII' beneath. Printed rectangular label inside the back: 'MOSSMAN UKULELE / The Instrument of Quality / Honolulu, T.H' (ie Territory of Hawaii,1898-1959). Handwritten in ink on inside of back, below label: 'MADE (in) HAWAII'.