Violin-uke

Alternate name(s)

Fretless zither
Chord zither
Zither, bowed melody strings, chord, body with narrowed waist near tuning pins and flared shape near saddle
Violin zither

Date1960 ca.

Place MadeNew Troy, Michigan, United States, North America

Serial No.none

SignedPaper label inside soundhole, blue on white: VIOLIN-UKE / PATENT APPLIED FOR / GUARANTEED 5 YEARS / $3500 / MARXOCHIME COLONY / NEW TROY, MICHIGAN Decal on front: This is an Original / MARX INSTRUMENTMarkingsOn top of cardboard box, in brown marker: violin-uke In pencil: Res.July 31 - 1968 In green ink: 50¢DescriptionAn American "numerical zither," which is played by bowing the melody strings and plucking the chord strings. Made of wood, in the shape of a small, narrow lyre, with flat back, top, and sides. Attached foot / hand rest has flat base. Gold-brown varnish, with purple air-brushed diagonal stripes; back is painted black. Single soundhole. Bridges of dark metal, sandwiched between gold-painted wood. Metal tuning pins, hitch pins, and positioning pins. Two tacks on the back near the foot serve as props.
Sixteen melody strings, which run at a slight angle to instrument top. Sixteen chord strings in groups of four, which run parallel over the instrument top. All tuning pins are grouped at the top of the instrument. Melody and chord decals, and tuning and positioning pins, are attached directly to top of instrument; chord hitch pins are attached to end of body and are covered by the foot / hand rest.
chord decal, located just above hitch-pin bridge; colors same as for melody
DimensionsBody: 18 3/4 in. (47.7 cm.) x 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm.) at widest x 1 5/16 in (34 mm.)
Foot: 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.) x 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm.) x 1 5/8 in. (42 mm.)
ProvenanceArne B. Larson Collection, Vermillion, South Dakota, 1979.

Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979

Object number04289

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