c.1925 Lyon & Healy Camp Uke

Now here's an interesting historical note: a lot of people know about these awesome little round-bodied Camp Ukes made by Lyon & Healy in the '20s (and their evil twin bad-quality knock-offs made by Gretsch) but most people don't know that a lot of them were made of nyssa (black gum/tupelo) wood (which pretty-much only Lyon & Healy used)! This one is made of nyssa and is all-original except for the strings.

I've reglued both the top and the back and repaired three hairlines in the top (with patches on the back to prevent further spreading later on). After setup this uke turned into a great-sounding, nice-playing little tag-along creature. The nyssa gives it a definite stand-out look, with warm luster and interesting grain.

Headstock with the stamped-in "CampUke" logo.

Interesting bakelite position dots are original, as are the original brass frets (now polished up). This uke was filthy before and it took a lot of careful cleaning to get this fretboard back from the dirty-brown-grey it was before!

Serial number.

I love these old Pat Apld For moustache bridges. Simple but they look great!

Beauty shot... and your first glimpse of that turned banjo-style back!

Gotta love the grain and celluloid binding.

Original bakelite tuners.

Now there's class! A turned "resonator" style backplate... very interesting indeed! A lot of these ukes simply had flat backs, but this one went the extra step!

Overall glory shot. I sold this a while ago and am pleased to report it's in good hands. I almost kept it! It's pretty rare you come across such a good example of a Camp Uke.