Brüko Type#5 for Boosey & Hawkes

My Boosey Branded Brüko

I got this one from eBay without a great deal of knowledge about as a gamble. I knew it was branded Boosey & Hawkes, (but then I also knew B&H were distributors, not manufacturers so I didn't know who actually made it). I know it needed some work because it only had 3 tuning pegs, But I wasn't sure if it needed anything else or any great idea of the age?

When it arrived I could see instantly that is was originally made by Brüko, (I emailed Brüko and they told me they only made Ukuleles for Boosey & Hawkes in the 1950's and 60's so now I had the rough age as well as the maker). Also, thankfully beyond a good clean and a tidying of the frets the missing tuner was the only problem, (there is a ding at the bottom on the side of the upper bout too) . This proved to be a bigger problem than I thought because the original Tuners were very thin and so the tuner holes were only 4mm. These days most tuners use a 5mm hole, (this may not sound like much but it is a 25% difference!). I didn't want to drill out the headstock so I hunted around and eventually go a set of "classic" tuners that were suppose to fit a 4mm hole (actually they needed a 4.5mm hole so I still ended up drilling it out but not as much, and the holes are still small enough that I could use the original tuners if I ever got a forth), Sadly I could only get Cream Buttons as well and the originals were black. Oh well, it looks OK with the cream buttons and now I can play it.

 All in all I think the gamble really paid off this time what I have is a beautiful sounding solid wood Ukulele from a good maker with a little bit of 60's kitsch Boosey & Hawkes logo.