American Banjo Ukulele: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This banjo ukulele was made by an unknown maker in the United States around 1925-1930. It is a Four-String Banjo Ukulele, made of different colored woods, 17 frets, friction tuning pegs. A similar instrument appears in a 1918 Wurlitzer catalog (No. 110).

During the 1920s and 1930s banjo ukuleles were manufactured by the thousands. The majority of these instruments were inexpensive. They were easy to play, and produced a louder sound than the traditional Hawaiian ukulele, which created an irresistible appeal.

As per Dee Cook Leggett, this banjo ukulele was given to her mother, the donor, Elma Grace Hanika Cook, by Elma's mother, Nellie Ann Harmon Hanika as a high school graduation present.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1915-1920
• date made: 1925-1930
• Object Name: banjo ukelele
• Object Name: banjo ukulele
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 21 1/2 in x 7 1/8 in x 3 in; 54.61 cm x 18.0975 cm x 7.62 cm
• place made: United States
• ID Number: 1989.0565.01
• accession number: 1989.0565
• catalog number: 1989.0565.01
• Credit Line: Gift of Elma Grace Hanika Cook
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.