Guitars

1840 to 1844 Schatz Guitar

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Henry Schatz first became known to C. F. Martin Sr. when they were both working for Johann Stauffer, the famous Viennese guitar maker, during the early 1820’s. Schatz emigrated to the United States some time between 1826 and 1830 and settled in Philadelphia. It is very likely that he encouraged Martin to emigrate to the […]

Guitars

1875 Martin 1-21 Guitar

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Most Martin guitars made between about 1885 and the beginning of serial numbers in 1898 are dated under the top of the guitar in pencil or blue crayon. Occasionally initials are also seen under the date. This guitar is one of the few instruments that are dated prior to 1885. In this case the guitar […]

Guitars

Decals

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On June 22, 1932 Martin received a shipment of decals from Palm , Fechteler & Co. Based on unit costing from later orders it appears the first batch was for about 5,000 decals. Martin put the decals into immediate use. The earliest reported guitar with a decal is a 1932 OM-18, serial number 50674, that […]

Guitars

1916-1917 Ditson Taro-Patch 3

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Between 1916 and 1926 Martin produced Ditson model ukuleles with a wide waist design that were similar to the guitars Martin was making for Ditson from 1915 to 1920. The Ditson model ukuleles are popular collectors items because of their distinctive appearance but are not particularly rare, excepting the Ditson 5K ukuleles, as several thousand […]

Guitars

1931 Martin 00-28 Guitar (Serial Number 46449)

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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 […]

Guitars

1927 Martin 00-45 Guitar (Serial Number 33002)

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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 […]

Guitars

1929 Martin 000-18 Guitar (Serial Number 38272)

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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 […]