Ukelin

This is another of those strange instruments that was sold door-to-door and in some catalogs from the '30s to the '50s or '60s. Like the Marxolin, this is a combination of a bowed psaltery and zither. However, unlike the Marxoline, which has the psaltery and zither parts side-by-side, the Ukelin has them on top and bottom.

This instrument has rubber feet on the back so this instrument was meant to be played on a table top pointing away from you. You strummed the chord strings (over the lower sound hole) and bowed the psaltery strings through the metal guides on the side. The guides made sure you bowed in exactly the right spot on each string. And, of course, all the strings are labeled with their appropriate notes.

Not much can be made out from the labels, other than the name, because they've blackened over time.

My thanks to Cheryl Granfield for this nice, unique gift.

To find out all there is to know about the Ukelin, check out http://www.geocities.com/~ukelin/.