Vintage Manufacturer's Advertising Co. 32 String Ukelin, No Cracks, Jersey City

Description

You are bidding on a great original Manufacturer's Advertising Company 32 string Ukelin. A Ukelin is a vintage musical instrument like a bowed psaltery with zither strings made popular in the 1920s. It is meant to be a combination of the violin and the Hawaiian ukulele. The history of the ukelin is hard to trace, since there were several instruments resembling the ukelin that were produced in the 1920s. Manufacturer's Advertising Co. was located in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The ukelin has sixteen melody strings and sixteen bass strings, divided into groups of four for playing accompanying chords. There is one large bass string in each group and three smaller chord strings. The ukelin is placed on the table in front of the player. The melody strings are played with a bow in the right hand, and the bass strings are plucked or strummed with the fingernails of the left hand or a pick. The ukelin is tuned to a C major scale.  For ease of playing for amateurs, the strings are given numbers, and the booklets that were sold with the ukelin would give these numbers, a tabulature notation, instead of notes on a staff, for playing simple songs.
Condition is very good. I see no cracks. The head of the instrument has a small space between the top and sides but it looks stable There is some wear to the body. It has all of its strings but I'm sure they should be replaced. Strings are available online. It doesn't have a tuning key but you can get one at Stew Mac.
The top has some dust.
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