A reader posted this cool vintage clip to our Facebook page and we had to share. Watch the short film “The Making of a Ukulele,” created by Ford Motor Company around 1917 for educational purposes.
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The clip depicts a ukulele being made by hand — likely in the shop of famed Hawaiian builder Manuel Nunes — according to our friends at the Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum, who posted the video to YouTube. Nunes appears briefly in the film, holding the finished ukulele.
The unidentified ukulele player, who tests the instrument, is believed to be Henry Kailimai, best known for his composition “On the Beach at Waikiki.” The music you hear was later added to the film, which was originally silent.
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