Hawaiian Mahogany Co.

Hawaiian Mahogany Co.
The Hawaiian Mahogany Company originally started in 1921 as a timber supplier, but soon branched out, running a saw mill and then going into manufacturing things with the wood like furniture and Ukuleles.

In the late 20's they became C.Q. Yee Hop & Company (C.Q. Yee Hop being the biggest shareholder in the company). Under this name they manufactured and sold Ukuleles through to 1947 when records of them cease?

Their Ukuleles were sold in Hawaii with a number of brand names including Echo and Pele, and were also distributed, and sometimes re-branded on the mainland. Two other brands they were responsible for producing were Malolo and Royal Hawaiian. These were made for the Matson Shipping Co. (of which C.Q. Yee Hop was a shareholder), who reputedly gave them away to some of the patrons of their cruise liners and hotels, (Matson was a major shareholder in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel which opened in 1927 and its cruising flagship was the Malolo, launched in 1927 to run from San Francisco to Honolulu bringing tourists to the Islands).

Some Echo Ukuleles include a special device apparently intended to add to the instrument's tone. This "Echo Device" was one or two strips of thin metal attached to the inside of the top of Ukulele directly opposite to where the bridge is mounted. Though some Ukulele labels claim this was patented no one has actually seen the patent, and the device itself was often removed as it didn't really work.