Details
We have offered a lot of Martin tiples over the years, but this example from 1922 is the earliest one we have ever had for sale and one of the most historically significant to boot. The importance of Martin's ukuleles to the company's survival in the late 'teens/early '20s is now well-known, but what many people don't realize is that Martin's steel-string tiple was a major component in the Hawaiian craze of that era. Wm. J. Smith & Co., a retailer and publisher of Hawaiian sheet music in New York City specialized in uke-family instruments and was the reason the Martin Tiple exists. William Smith introduced the Colombian tiple to Martin around 1917 and was the first to request that they build a version for his store to sell. As well as having a store, Smith was a noted ukulele performer and instructor.
The first tiples Martin made were for Smith, and he and Martin experimented quite a bit in those early years. There are versions made with 8 strings and some with 12 strings, but by 1921 they settled on the 10-string as shown here as the standard. As with the Hawaiian instruments Martin made for Ditson around this time, the tiples made for Smith had no stamps or labels identifying them as made by C. F. Martin. The stamps on the back of the headstock, and on the inside center strip of the back, say only "Wm. J. Smith, New York." Smith was fond of giving his wares Hawaiian names, and added the "U-KA-LU-A" paper label seen here, while other Martin-made instruments were given similar "KAMIKI" labels.
Martin had ceased giving ukuleles serial numbers by this time, but fortunately stamped serial numbers in all the tiples they made so we know this one dates to 1922. It's essentially a Martin T-18, which was introduced around the same time (to Smith's extreme annoyance, who thought he had an exclusive on the tiple from Martin), but the dark-stained top and fan-pattern top bracing make this Wm. J. Smith version different from any Martin tiple.
This has its original shellac-varnish finish throughout, and its original rosewood binding, bar-stock frets and brass Waverly gears. The bridge has obviously been reglued. The bar stock frets are tightly seated but a little uneven, if you intend to play it seriously some fret work will be required. However since this tiple may very well be a historical display piece we wanted to leave that decision up to the new owner. Comes with an excellent hardshell case made for Martin tiples, the case probably dates to the 1970s/'80s.
Specs
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Back sides
Mahogany
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Bridge
Koa
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Fingerboard
Ebony
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Frets to body
12
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Neck material
Mahogany
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Nut width
1 1/2"
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Scale length
17"
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Top material
Spruce
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Total frets
18
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Tuners
Waverly
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Year
1922
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Case type
Hardshell
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Serial number
17071
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SKU
MARSMITHTIPLE-17071
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UPC
141543
