vintage GIBSON style 3 soprano Ukulele - top of the line 1920s/30s

Description

The pictures speak are part of the offer description.
I am selling here a rarity - you can hardly find a second Gibson style 3 soprano Ukulele.
Or rather, "THE GIBSON" - up to the 1950s there was only "Gibson" on the headstock. So the pre-war time was the golden age of ukulele buliding by Gibson and Martin!
In contrast to Martin, Gibson entered ukulele production quite late (up to the mid-1920s). Then the ukulele boom was already subsiding and the production numbers fell. Gibson has oriented itself to the "styles" of Martin with regard to the decorations.
The "style 3" offered here was the top equipment from Gibson - the instrument in the top of the line segment. It cost more than twice as much as a "style 0".
In the prospectus of that time it says: "No finer ukulele ever offered. Marvelous tone, deep rich mahogany finish. Beautiful ornamented. Perfect scale." Not much more can be added. The tone is brilliant, a lot of sustain and still warm. You won't find anything like it in modern ukuleles. You won't want to play anything else. You can tell that the professionals at Gibson have built a fully-fledged instrument and not a souvenir for tourists. The ukulele was very expensive at the time and you can tell by the playability and the sound. The strings lie nice and flat over the fingerboard, they are precise and really easy to grip.
The intonation is great for such a small instrument. The mahogany conjures up a warm, but not washed-out sound.
Gibson really dished out the decorations - the snowflake fret markers, the headstock decorations and the black and white celluloid bindings on the front and back as well as around the soundhole are evidence of perfect craftsmanship. Apparently they wanted to stand out from Martin. The string action is very comfortably flat - ideal for fingerpicking. Nevertheless, nothing rattles at stummen.
The Gibson consists of the highest quality components - solid mahogany, rosewood fingerboard, separate ebony bridge and saddle, celluloid bezels. It's hard to believe that the instrument is almost 100 years old.
Gibson were manufactured much less frequently than comparable Martin ukuleles. In the rare top of the line, the style 3, it is a real collector's item. In Germany and Europe you will hardly get a Gibson ukulele - let alone a style 3. So I bought this Uke years ago directly in a shop for vintage banjos, mandolins and ukuleles in the USA (for 3500$)
There is a scratch on the back of the body. This only seems superficial, in any case no light shines through with a bright lamp. It may also be a hairline crack - however, this is negligible and does not affect the sound of the ukulele.
There are brand new Martin M600 fluorocarbon strings.
As a private person, I sell the ukulele as defective to the exclusion of warranty, guarantee and exchange
International ebayer welcome! Worldwide shipping with insurance! Shipping to USA is around 80$