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Original Post By:
alienkj
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Date: 3/10/2017 5:14:50 PM |
Hi I have not been able to find any info on this Kumalae ukulele,it has a paper label inside the sound hole. The label reads as follows..... TEL. 2384 JONAH KUMALAE MANUFACTURER OF CALABASHES, UKULELES, ETC. PATCHING A SPECIALITY 1719 LILIHA ST. HONOLULU, HAWAII The ukulele is about 20 inches long
I have seen an almost identical uke on your site in 2011 & was hoping you know more about them now. Can you value it? |
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Posted By:
Muttzukii
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Date: 3/16/2017 12:54:16 PM
(Updated: 3/16/2017 2:49:26 PM)
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| Not much excitement about replying to this one, eh? Dear Alien, there are a lot of factors about value & your post doesn't provide much information. Were you hoping to sell or get valued for insurance? Just curious? Best way to get accurate valuation is [surprise] pay for it. If you don't live where you can walk into a knowledgeable dealer with a service dept, you can use the internet. I believe Elderly Instruments offers this service and there are a couple of others. You'll need good pictures and at least a "cavity search" report. If there are loose wood braces inside, that is a factor. If you can get the picture posting thing to work on Fleamarket Marketplace, put a bunch of photos on it and list to sell as Best Offer. You don't have to take any offer; it is up to you to decide to sell or just use any offers as a reference point.
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Posted By:
karl
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Date: 3/25/2017 6:58:11 AM |
There is a 'Vintage Guitar Price Guide' published each year, with a section giving ballpark value figures for ukuleles as well.
Two important things to know is that Kumalae made several styles of ukuleles, each with a different value according to the amount of rope binding (0 to 5, sometimes also A to E with the A equalling the 1). The other is that his builds are very light and the backs arched, which makes them wonderful to play but also prone to damage - is it still in tip-top shape?
Kumalae was one of the first to make ukuleles on an industrial scale, so they are not as rare as other early makers. He started in 1911 and moved from Liliha St to Isenberg and South King St after a fire in 1922, so that gives you an idea. In 1919 he added the 'gold award' decal to all headstocks, pointing at his succes at the 1915 Panama-Pacific exhibition.
If you look at sold ebay-listings, they sell from 70$ (pretty damaged, unplayable) to 820 $ (a pristine style E or 5 with its original case.
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