The popularity of 12-fret 00-28 guitars began to waver in 1929 as the first Martin 14-fret six-string guitars appeared on the market. The 00-28 models had been a very popular up-market guitar for some time and were what Martin considered one of their best sounding guitars they made, being in their opinion better balanced than […]
Serial number 33002 was stamped on September 15, 1927 at the beginning of the production process. The tuners are Waverly G-32 chrome plated machines with ivoroid buttons. Style 45 features: Back and sides: Brazilian rosewood Top: Red spruce (Adirondack) Purfling: Abalone Binding: Ivoroid Back Stripe: Style 45 Other period features: Scalloped X-bracing Ebony fingerboard Ebony […]
Serial number 39272 was stamped on April 4, 1929 and cleared final inspection on October 22 that year, just two days before “Black Thursday” of the 1929 Stock Market Crash and truly marking the very end of the “roaring 20’s”. The tuners are Waverly G-30 machines. Style 18 features: Back and sides: Mahogany Top: Red […]
Serial number 57851 was stamped on October 3, 1934 and cleared final inspection on May 7, 1935 (quite a long time in production for the period). At least four of the twenty-five guitars from this batch had dark tops. It was shipped to Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. in St. Louis MO on April 29, 1935. Clearly, […]
Serial number 57921 was stamped on October 8, 1934 and cleared final inspection on Jun 26, 1935 (a long time in production for the period) There must have been a fall-off in demand for the 000-18 around that time. At least eleven of twenty-five guitars in this batch had dark tops. It was shipped […]
Serial number 62166 was stamped on January 28, 1936 and cleared final inspection on July 9 that year. The tuners are Grover G-98 pointed plate machines with seamed metal butterbean buttons. Style 28 features: Back and sides: Brazilian rosewood Top: Red spruce (Adirondack) Purfling: Herringbone Binding: Ivoroid Back Stripe: Zig-zag purfling pattern Other […]
Serial number 99606 was stamped on April 3, 1947 and cleared final inspection on July 30 that year. The tuners are Waverly 5038 machines with the distinctive “Yoda head” backing plates with rounded metal buttons. These machines were used by Martin from 1939 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1947. Style 28 features: Back […]
Martin launched its carved-top guitars in June 1931. They were offered in three models; C-1, C-2 and C-3, with the C-3 guitars being the most expensive. These carved-top guitars were based on the same 000-size body used for the flat top guitars. However, Martin took a different approach to making arched-top guitars compared to its […]
This particular guitar has a very interesting story as it has been in the same family since 1934. The guitar is a remarkable survivor and, based on the photographs supplied by the owner, is in original condition excepting some minor wear. Serial number 57801 comes from the first batch of D-28 guitars with a steel […]
This is a very rare guitar made by Martin for Wanamaker’s Department Store, which had branches in Philadelphia and New York. The Wanamaker store in Philadelphia started buying instruments from Martin in 1904. From 1907 to 1910 some guitars were also purchased for the New York branch. Wanamaker continued to buy Martin guitars, mandolins and […]