A98. A Brief History of the Ukulele

A98. Peter and Donna Thomas. A Brief History of the Ukulele. Santa Cruz, California: Peter & Donna Thomas, 1999.

73 x 54 mm (2 7/8” x 2 1/8”), 26-page accordion, 300 copies.

Binding: Simple accordion; covers are mahogany or koa wood boards. Held by a leatherette paper sleeve. Title and illustration on label on cover. Accordion is printed on both sides. Paper: White, commercial. Printing: Digital. Typography: Reproduction of text handwritten by Donna Thomas. Illustration: Reproductions of twenty watercolor paintings by Donna Thomas. Notes: Printed on a four-color digital web press. Miniature Book Society Distinguished Book of the Year, 2000.

“Due to the rising popularity of the ukulele, the fifty copies of our first History of the Ukulele [A89] sold out very quickly. Encouraged by Jim Beloff, we made a second, much larger edition. Donna made the original book as a one-of-a-kind, with new illustrations and improved text. Her original was then scanned and commercially printed on a four-color digital web press. These presses print from a continuous roll of paper, on two sides at once. We were excited by the possibility of having a single long sheet of paper, rather than having to glue several shorter pieces together, to fold into the accordion structure. The covers were made from wood scraps from ukuleles made by Tony Graziano, a Santa Cruz luthier, and so each book has a matching ukulele somewhere in the world.  The leatherette paper sleeve was meant to be reminiscent of the traditional chipboard ukulele case.”