On a recent trip to Oahu I had the incredible opportunity to visit with Shawn Yacovone of Ukulele Friend and play these remarkable instruments with Mika Kane. From Shawn,
"The ukulele you played is from 1885. It was handcrafted by Jose do Espírito Santo. The ukulele Mika played is from 1890 and that was handcrafted by Manuel Nunes. Both of these instruments were made prior to the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893 and are among the earliest known examples of ukuleles to be made."
For more information:
"HAWAIIAN MUSIC ARCHIVES
This ambitious new public-private partnership is building a uniquely accessible collection that seeks to honor Hawaii's rich legacy by documenting all aspects of Hawaiian music for research and educational purposes.
The partnership between the Hawaii State Archives, 'Ukulele Foundation of Hawaii, Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum, 'Ukulele Guild of Hawaii, Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings, Honoka'upu 'Ukulele Collection, and Line Studio is international in scope, reflecting the lasting popularity of Hawaiian music around the world.
Much of the material already in the archives - including tens of thousands of music recordings and hundreds of historic 'ukulele - was previously locked away in private collections. Our goal is to make this material freely accessible to the public.
We are seeking tax-deductible contributions of every facet of Hawaiian music from the 19th century to today: instruments and cases, strings, sheet music, instruction books, sound, film and video recordings,
advertisements, personal papers, company archives and other material.
Financial donations are also gratefully accepted.
For more information, email musicarchives@hawaii.gov."
mattukulele.com