The Martin Ukulele - by Tom Walsh & John King

A detailed look at the ukuleles built by the C. F. Martin Co. of Nazareth, PA, and how the instruments' success forever changed the company. Martin's ukulele-making led the small, respected builder of fine guitars and mandolins into an era of unprecedented growth in the 1920s and helped it become one of the most legendary manufacturers of high-quality guitars in the world. Drawing heavily from Martin's own archives, the authors provide production records for every model by year, a timeline of specificaton changes to every model ever made by Martin, information about ukuleles made for other companies and individuals, plus sales records and inventories. With hundreds of full color photos, including many of the rarest ukuleles the company produced. Extensive additional imagery chronicles the popularity of the ukulele itself. From Martin's first attempt at production in 1907, to the peaks of ukulele popularity in the 1920s and '50s, to the disinterest that caused Martin to cease ukulele production in the 1990s, to the recent resurgence that allowed the firm to again offer an assortment of new models, this history is a must for any ukulele aficionado. 214 pp.