Ukelin Bow
date: label: date made
content: 1963
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>This bow was made by Oscar Schmidt, International, Inc. in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1963. It is a ukelin bow, made of a round birch dowel with fitted wooden head, both painted red, maple frog painted black and an accompanying black plastic button, “hair” of white rayon ribbon 9 mm. in width, held in place with fiber plates and metal screws. Accessioned with ukelin (Cat. MI.74.09)</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>Ukelins from Oscar Schmidt International were marketed by door-to-door commission salesmen from 1926 until production was terminated in 1964. This instrument, in an excellent state of preservation, is accompanied with a bow and playing instruction booklet.</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>Glen Peterson, the last President of Oscar Schmidt, wrote to the Smithsonian in the 1980s: "Ukelins, to the best of my knowledge, were for years made from any kind of excess scrap, drop-offs, or whatever could be found around the basic process of making zithers and/or Autoharps. When I came on the scene (1963) the tops and bottoms were made from waste 1/4" Minnesota basswood veneer that had been found unfit for Autoharps. The frames were of rock maple - always top quality." He further explains the advertisement of incorporating Philippine mahogany in making ukelins was inaccurate information.</p>
place: label: place made
content: United States: New Jersey, Jersey City
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Music & Musical Instruments
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Oscar Schmidt International Inc.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MI.74.09a
label: catalog number
content: 74.09a
label: accession number
content: 312073
objectType: label: Object Name
content: bow
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: birch (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: maple (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rayon (overall material)