Martin 5K Soprano Ukulele, 1920s, w/Original HSC Owned by May Singhi Breen, Excellent Condition Start Price USD 8,000.00 Current Price USD 8,655.80 Time Left - Bid Count 4 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, August 15, 2008 End Time Monday, August 25, 2008 Location Takoma Park, Maryland See more about 'Martin 5K Soprano Ukulele, 1920s, w/Original HSC' Description SquareTrade © AP6.0 House of Musical Traditions Takoma Park, MD 20912 TEL: 301-270-9090 email 11 am - 7 pm EST - Tuesday through Saturday 11 am - 5 pm EST - Sunday & Monday Website: www.hmtrad.com Thanks for taking the time to view our auction! PLEASE CLICK ON THE "ABOUT ME" LINK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HMTRAD & OUR AUCTION POLICIES The information on that page will assist you in making an informed bid. ABOUT ME Here we have a 1920’s C F Martin 5K soprano ukulele. The 5K was the premier (and highest priced) Martin ukulele produced in the early 20th century. While we have an interesting story from the current owner (who is a relative of the original owner) it is often hard, without confirmed provenance, to date 1920’s Martin ukes, as they bear no serial numbers. The one thing we do know is that it was not built between 1925 and 1927, since during those years the Martin company inlaid the sides of 5K ukes with abalone. This one does not have abalone inlaid sides. What it does have is a highly flamed Hawaiian Koa wood body, ivoroid binding on the top, back and fingerboard, and a multiple pearl inlaid ebony fingerboard. The bridge and the headstock cover plate are also flamed Koa. The tuning pegs are Grover style with yellowed grained-ivoroid buttons. One peg housing is stamped “Grover Patent”; the others are not. We don’t know whether any or all of these are original. There is very colorful abalone pearl inlay along the binding of the top, back, and in the center ring of the rosette, and an abalone “torch” inlaid into the headstock. The nut and bridge saddle appear to be the original ivory parts. Overall this instrument is in wonderful condition, though there is some evidence of playing wear. The finish isn’t perfect and here is what we see: There is a slight smudge on the treble side of the neck behind the nut where a player might cradle the instrument in her left hand. There is a smudge on the top just below the treble side of the fretboard. There is a small wear spot/dinged area at the back/bass/lower bout which might have resulted from the instrument rubbing/bumping as it was being removed and replaced in the case over the years. There are some light play marks on the top and neck, and minor crazing of the finish. There are no cracks in the body or neck, and there appear to have been no repairs; however, there is a hairline crack in the ebony fretboard that runs from the 12th fret towards the soundhole to the 17th fret. As for playability: the neck is straight, the frets show essentially no wear, and the string action is very low. This was probably the preference of the original owner, but many players might want slightly higher string action. We will leave that adjustment to the future owner. Because we are so pleased with the natural vintage state of this ukulele, we are presenting it to the public in the condition that it arrived to us for sale; we have neither cleaned nor polished it. Therefore the buyer of this highly collectable instrument can decide for themselves whether to polish it up (in which case we think its flamey presentation-grade Koa top/back/sides would positively glow), or not. But even in its current “just out of grandma’s closet” state, it is a fine looking instrument. The uke came to us with ancient strings, one of which was missing, so we restrung it with Martin soprano ukulele strings. Currently there are at least two other 5K Martin ukes that we have found on the market. One is priced at $12,000, the other at $10,800. We believe that this instrument competes head to head with both of these, and may indeed be more original and in better condition than either. (The above description was provided by our senior luthier Steve Carmody, a Martin-authorized repairman and expert in vintage Martin instruments.) What we believe is the original hardshell case is included. There was also an additional set of tuning pegs in the case, which we will include. One of these tuners has the screw missing but this could be easily replaced. We reiterate that the current tuners work just fine. Martin recently reintroduced the 5K ukulele, and its new list price is $5,199. Now onto the history of this uke. The original owner was May Singhi Breen (1895-1970), affectionately known as “The Ukulele Lady.” She is part of the “Ukulele Hall Of Fame,” and you can read about her many accomplishments in the uke world here: http://www.ukulele.org/?Inductees:2000-2001:May_Singhi_Breen. Martin even custom-made a 5K uke for Ms. Breen with her name inlaid on the headstock and “Ukulele Lady” inlaid into the fingerboard. While we don’t know exactly when she obtained this uke, as you’ll see from the sticker inside the instrument it was purchased from Wm. J Smith & Co, which was on 34th St. in NYC. This was not far from where Ms. Breen used to do her NBC radio broadcasts at 42nd St. The current owner of this ukulele is related to Ms. Breen through marriage, and the uke has been passed down through the family. It has been kept as an heirloom since her death, and has not been played. The current owner has provided us with some print materials about Ms. Breen and we will include these in the sale. Potential bidders, please read the following information carefully: While we generally offer a return option on our eBay auctions, because this item is part of an estate sale, we are not offering a return option on this item. We feel that we have presented this uke in extremely accurate detail and a potential buyer should have a clear idea of what they are bidding on. Of course, in the unlikely case of shipping damage/loss, we would address those problems. We are not offering a buy it now on this auction. If you are local to our store, you are welcome to come see the uke in person, but if you wish to purchase you must bid on the auction.  If you are the winning bidder and are local to our store, you may of course pick it up and avoid the shipping fees--however, MD sales tax (6%) would be charged to MD residents.  There is no reserve on this auction.We accept Paypal, credit cards and money orders.  If paying by Paypal, you must have the item shipped to your confirmed address.  If paying by credit card, you must have the item shipped to your credit card billing address.  NO EXCEPTIONS. Now onto shipping. Due to the value of this instrument, we prefer to ship by UPS 3-day select within the continental US. This cost will be $125.00, insured for the final selling price of the instrument. Serious bidders only from outside the continental US are welcome to contact for a shipping quote. However we encourage international bidders to read the following for a guide—we have determined approximate shipping cost to various other places: Hawaii, UPS 2nd day air: $160 UK or France, UPS Worldwide Expedited: $350 Japan, UPS Worldwide Expedited: $336 Australia, UPS Worldwide Expedited: $420 UPS is our preferred shipping service since USPS does not offer adequate insurance to cover the value of this instrument. International buyers should also be aware that they would likely have to pay customs duties as determined by the buyer’s country. We have no way of anticipating these costs, and we do not adjust customs invoices to reflect a lower value. Please feel free to contact us with any questions on this item. Our business hours are 11-5 Sunday & Monday; 11-7 Tuesday through Saturday (Eastern Standard Time). We can handle shipping quote requests Monday through Friday only. Thanks for reading and perusing. It goes without saying that this is a collector’s item with an interesting history and we look forward to finding a great home for it. The pictures below were taken in two different lighting situations. OUR QUALITY SCALE: NEW -- Brand new, never used MINT -- Perfect condition, like new NEAR MINT -- Like new with extremely minor cosmetic flaws EXCELLENT -- Minor cosmetic imperfections VERY GOOD -- No major problems GOOD -- Still in useful condition FAIR -- Has plenty of wear POOR -- Most likely it's broken or needs work This instrument is in EXCELLENT condition. BIDDERS -- We only accept bids and purchases from registered users with good ratings. Unregistered bidders who choose "Buy It Now" will be reported to eBay and will earn a negative rating from us. Bidders with a Feedback Rating of less than 5 must contact us directly before bidding on an item. If paying with Paypal, you must have the item shipped to your confirmed address. We reserve the right to end this auction early. CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR OTHER EBAY AUCTIONS We are the House of Musical Traditions, just outside of Washington, DC. We have been in business for over thirty years. We pride ourselves in our excellent eBay rating and good comments from satisfied customers. Place a Bid!