GUEST: In 1933, my grandmother was hired as a companion for an older lady, and they went to Hawaii, and they were there for 18 months. And while she was there, she learned to play ukulele, and the hula. And when she came home, she brought it with her, and I inherited it when she passed in 1984.
APPRAISER: So when did she come back from Hawaii?
GUEST: In... May or June of 1934.
APPRAISER: Well, there's a label inside this that states that Kamaka took out a patent on the ukulele design on it in 1928. So we know that it's between that period. They had been making this ukulele in, in the pineapple shape for some time with different kinds of decoration on the face. Sometimes they would paint the whole face like a pineapple, and sometimes they would actually paint the pineapple design in the finish. But by this time, they were trying to make more of them, and so they, they patented the, the pineapple concept. The pineapples on the head stock and on the face, they're actually a foil sticker. And what makes this one so exceptional is that it just sparkles. The fact that it came back from Hawaii is probably a good thing, because it didn't get a lot of humidity. It doesn't need anything. It has its original tuners, and it just needs a set of strings, and it's ready to go.
GUEST: Oh, wow, okay.
APPRAISER: In a specialty shop, it would probably have a retail value of around $1,200.
GUEST: Oh, really? I'm so surprised!
APPRAISER: Well, condition, condition, condition.
GUEST: (laughs)
APPRAISER: This one, this one has that in spades.
GUEST: Well, then, I'm glad. Well, that's fantastic. Thank you.
