This instrument is an early 14-fret D-18 guitar. As this guitar was made prior to September 27, 1934 it has the ebony bar neck reinforcement and bar frets. A total of 57 regular D-18 guitars were made in 1934; 32 with an ebony neck reinforcement and 25 with a steel T-bar neck reinforcement and T-frets. […]
It is always nice to be able to post photos of such a rare guitar. This is a very early OM-45; the fourth one made (or the fifth if you want to count Roy Roger’s OM-45 Deluxe). Only thirty-nine regular Martin OM-45 guitars were made between 1930 and 1933. See pages 214 to 220 of […]
One of the more mysterious and unusual guitars made by the Martin Guitar Co. must be the Model L guitar made for William L. Lange. A total of only 72 were made between 1930 and 1932 in Spanish, Hawaiian and tenor guitar variations. See pages 193 t0 195 of “Hutton’s Guide to Martin Guitars 1833-1969” […]
This Martin Guitar Co. catalogue is dated January 1929. I have not seen this catalog previously, even in the Martin archive. This information is only available due to the indulgence of the National Music Museum in allowing me to conduct research in their remarkable archive. Anyone wishing to obtain information for their own research interests […]
This Martin Guitar Co. catalogue is dated January 1928. I have not seen this catalog previously, even in the Martin archive. This information is only available due to the indulgence of the National Music Museum in allowing me to conduct research in their remarkable archive. Anyone wishing to obtain information for their own research interests […]
Here is the complete 1940 product catalogue for the Kluson Manufacturing Co. The range of products that Kluson made during the war years has been a continuing mystery. The only clues to the part numbers of Kluson tuners, to this point, have come from the Martin inventory records. Kluson tuners (and tail pieces) first appeared […]
Serial number 54286 is a round sound hole R-18 guitar. It was stamped on September 12, 1933 and cleared final inspection on December 22 that year. This guitar has the lovely “amberburst” finish that appeared on Martin guitars during 1932 and 1933. It was shipped to the Charles E. Wells Music Co. in Denver, Colorado […]
Serial number 49756 was stamped on January 14, 1932 and cleared final inspection on May 3 that year A total of 225 Martin 5-17T guitars were made in 1932, the last year of regular production for the model. As this guitar was made in early 1932 it did not receive a C. F. Martin […]
Serial number 38521 was stamped on May 1, 1929 and cleared final inspection on June 13 that year. As a 1929 guitar it would have originally been made with a pyramid bridge. However, 1929 was also the year that the OM guitars were introduced and once that genie was out of the bottle the demand […]
Here is a very interesting Martin & Coupa-labelled guitar with some unusual features. The Martin & Coupa label, based on my latest theory, was used from about August 1839 to May 1850 and, based on its the design features, this guitar is from the earliest part of this period. This guitar has the “transitional Spanish […]