Ukelin

It is a bowed psaltery with zither strings, and its name derives from the ukulele (which was first made in Portugal but was popularized in Hawaii) and the violin.

It lost popularity prior to the 1970s because the instrument was difficult to play and often returned to the manufacturer before it was completely paid for.

[2] Violinist Henry Charles Marx was one of the first to sell what he called a violin-uke, among many other instruments he created to be manufactured by his company, Marxochime Colony.

He was thought to be the first to manufacture the instrument but soon had his design copied by International Music Company, which sold it under the name ukelin.

[3] Marxochime and Oscar Schmidt International, Inc. sold their instruments door-to-door through traveling salesmen, often to poor rural families.

Oscar Schmidt, Inc. stopped producing the ukelin in 1964 after the new owner, Glen Peterson, discovered the shady business practices of some of his salesmen.