Martin Guitars

1938 Martin 000-21 Guitar, Serial Number 71476

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Serial number 71476 was stamped on October 21, 1938 and cleared final inspection on December 9 that year. The tuners are Grover G-98 pointed plate tuners with unseamed butterbean buttons. Style 21 features: Back and sides: Brazilian rosewood Top: Red spruce (Adirondack) Purfling: Lines Binding: Rosewood Sound hole decoration: Herringbone Backstripe: Herringbone Other period features: […]

Martin Guitars

1930 Martin OM-28, Serial Number 41927

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Serial number 41927 was stamped on March 21, 1930 and cleared final inspection on May 13 that year. The banjo tuners are modern replacements while the white celluloid buttons are original. The ebony pyramid bridge is a modern replacement made by luthier TJ Thompson. OM-28 features: Back and sides: Brazilian rosewood Top: Red spruce (Adirondack) […]

Martin Guitars

1937 Martin D-28, Serial Number 66724

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Serial number 66724 was stamped on June 24, 1937 and cleared final inspection on October 7 that year. This guitar has advanced X-bracing and a 1-3/4″ wide neck. The tuners are Grover G-98 pointed plate machines with unseamed butterbean buttons. Style 28 features: Back and sides: Brazilian rosewood Top: Red spruce (Adirondack) Purfling: Herringbone Binding: […]

Martin Guitars

1939 Martin D-18, Serial Number 72686

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Serial number 72686 was stamped on May 23, 1939 and cleared final inspection on September 24 that year. The guitar has rear-X bracing but retains the 1-3/4″ wide neck. Style 18 guitars usually had black celluloid binding but the binding on this guitar is tortoiseshell celluloid. The tuners are Grover G-98 pointed plate machines with […]

Martin Guitars

1933 Martin D-28, Serial Number 55082

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Here is one of the rarely seen 12-fret D-28 guitars. It is also one of the very last regular 12-fret D-28s made (although a few more 12-fretters were made on special order in subsequent years). Serial number 55082 was stamped on December 29, 1933 and cleared final inspection on January 23, 1934. This might also […]

Martin Guitars

1932 Martin OM-18, Serial Number 52348

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Serial number 52348 was stamped on November 28, 1932 and cleared final inspection on August 25, 1933 (a very long time in production for the period). The OM-18 guitars made in 1932 were called “Model 32” and all had a “dark top”, in Martin terminology. These are now commonly known as amberburst, honeyburst or teaburst […]

Martin Guitars

1937 Martin 00-17, Serial number 65224

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Serial number 65224 was stamped on January 7, 1937 and cleared final inspection on May 10 that year. The neck is 1-3/4″ wide at the nut  with a 24.9″ scale length. The straight bridge is made of Brazilian rosewood. The tuners are Grover G-98 clipped plate machines with rounded metal buttons. This is a little […]

Martin Guitars

1938 Martin 000-45, Serial Number 69899

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Serial number 69899 was stamped on March 25, 1938 and cleared final inspection on October 27 that year. This guitar was once owned by Smiley Burnette who was Gene Austry’s sidekick in many western movies. Like all style 45 guitars it has thin abalone strips inlaid around the top, back and sides as well as […]

Martin Guitars

1935 Martin D-28, Serial Number 59395

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Serial number 59395 was stamped on March 19, 1935 and cleared final inspection on August 15 that year. Being an early D-28 it has advanced X-bracing and an 1-3/4″ wide neck (string specing at the bridge is 2-5/16″). Like all pre-war D-28 guitars, it has herringbone purfling around the top of the guitar and the […]