JR Stewart Le Domino Soprano Ukulele 1927 - Black

A rare Vintage Le Domino Model Soprano Ukulele, made by J. R. Stewart Company in 1927 in Chicago black lacquer with domino decals finish, birch body, poplar neck, and extended fret board. It is rare to find these in this good of shape. Presented by my cat who is attracted to photo lights, she does not come with this Uke.

The Le Domino Ukulele is a genuine 1920's classic, one of the more distinctive ukes from the instrument's original flapper-age heyday. The J.R. Stewart company of Chicago built Le Domino branded guitars, mandolins, soprano and tenor ukes and banjo-ukes starting in the mid-1920's, and were very successful until the depression hit. The brand passed to Regal in the early 30's. The Le Domino ukulele was the best seller, and it's easy to see why.

Sold at a moderate price, this uke was well made lightly built and braced and sounds very good. The cosmetics are very flashy with a black, white, and gold "tuxedo" look. The sleek ebony finish is highlighted by 3-ply W/B/W ivoroid binding on the top, back, and fingerboard. A Domino decal adorns the top below the bridge, and a gold soundhole ring festooned with small dominoes completes the top ornamentation, with dominos painted on the fret board. The headstock carries a J.R.S. & Co. diamond logo with red and a gold leaf script "Le Domino". Its distinctive carved ledge was carried on as a feature of many later Regal Uke family instruments. This is a good playing and fine sounding uke, and a real eye catcher.

Overall length is 21 3/4 in. (55.2 cm.), 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 2 3/8 in. (6 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 14 in. (356 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/2 in. (38 mm.).

This cool little 1920s decorated uke remains all original, with some wear mostly to the bridge slots but no major damage. The original tuners could use some adjusting, or swapping out if this is to be a serious gigging instrument. The shiny ebony finish is largely intact showing only light digs and dents, and a bit of dust in my pictures, with very minor chipping to the decorative decals, which are lightly tarnished in the gold areas but still look cool as heck.

There is one seal in the side that is opening a bit, see the pictures, but this is a minor repair that has been done before. The bridge slots where the strings anchor are somewhat worn showing some visible repair, but work holding the string ends OK. This is a good playing and surprisingly fine sounding Uke, it also makes a cool decorative piece with a great story. See my other Le Domino "Big Boy" Blues Guitar and Le Domino "Parlor" Guitar (Elliot Smith's favorite) - I will be posting those soon. Collect the whole family of Le Domino from J.R. Stewart/Regal.