one that decidedly underclass Even Smaller Gray Riding Hood (a cousin of the economically privileged one) took with her on her own walks through the woods to bring victuals to her grandma. It has no serial number (it may have once had a number on the brace that underlies the end of the fingerboard but if so somebody has tried to obliterate it with marker and it is extremely difficult to read). Fear not, we have assigned it #ISI-2020 just like Ms. Riding Hood’s vision. This is a handsome nearly all-mahogany uke having a decorative ring of black-crème-black around the soundhole. It has an unbound Brazilian rosewood fingerboard (in those days wood like this grew on trees), having 12 frets to the body and 16 frets total. Said fingerboard is inlaid with single pearl dotmarkers on frets 3, 7, 12 and 15 and has double dots on frets 5 and 10.
This ukulele, which reminds one of a Favilla brand baritone ukulele, has an unbound body and headstock and said headstock has a crest near the top that reads “US STRAD” in white letters against a blue background and with two sections of striped red and white as to create a patriotic motif. The bridge, also Brazilian rosewood but for goodness sake don’t tell anyone, is classical guitar style, with a tie-block. The uke shows typical and normal signs of use and wear including scratches, scuffs, nicks, dings, scrapes, chips (especially around edges and borders) with some on the back of the neck as well. Somebody at some point hesitatingly thought about putting a strap button on the back below the heel and on the bottom side and then didn’t. The tuners are simple machines with grained ivoroid buttons; the nut and saddle could be celluloid. There are some who feel that this may have been made by the huge and illustrious Regal Company of Chicago and we have no argument with that – it could’a happened. There is a small air space under the fingerboard extension over the body on the bass side only – this is not an issue, not affecting playability, longevity or appearance in any way. We believe that old instruments like this, while not prestigious, provide great utility value at minimum cost, are bona fide made-in-the-USA, all solid wood products that were made in a time and place in which quality was a given, good sound quality was bestowed, and durability over a long period of time was the benefit.