Circa 1935 Gretsch Soprano Ukulele with Grover No. 76 Patent Tuning Pegs

Description

We're not 100% sure when this Gretsch soprano ukulele was built, but judging by the age of the Grover No. 76 patent tuning pegs it's probably from the 1930s. (The Grover pegs were also used on Martin Style 2, 3 and 5K ukuleles in the late 1920s.)The body and neck are solid South American mahogany, the fingerboard is dyed hardwood. Bridge is koa or mahogany, and the binding on the top edge of the body is black celluloid (with no breaks or looseness). Yep, this little old uke has some issues, so let's get those out of the way first. Looks like the neck has been removed and glued back in, but not very neatly. Yet the neck itself is quite straight and the string action would be playable with a taller saddle. Note that the bridge notch for the first string has chips so the string knot doesn't hold. This could be repaired or a taller bridge fitted. The back has cracks on the bass side, which have loosened one of the back braces along that edge. The top and sides have no cracks, the only crack to the neck is the obvious one in the fingerboard where it joins the body.  The tuners all function and all four buttons are solid. No case but we'll pack it securely for shipping.
We ship on the Tuesday following the end of the Sunday auctions.