Martin and Schatz
One of the most significant early Martins, this Martin & Schatz labeled guitar resided in a glass case at the new Martin factory in the years
preceding the addition of a formal Martin Museum.
During his first decade of operations in New York City, C. F. Martin's discovery of the fan braced guitars of Cadiz, Spain greatly influenced the
direction of the design of his guitars.
Built in the old world tradition with Viennese gears, and one of a handful of Martins with an ivory fingerboard and a small few with an ivory
shield shaped bridge, this was also one of the first one or two Martins built with a variation of fan bracing and the narrow early Spanish
"plantilla" or body shape.
This instrument was built with a rosewood veneer over mahogany and rosewood sides.
When Martin family moved to Pennsylvania, a number of instruments were sold to the firm of Ludecus and Wolter for liquidation. This is one of a small handful of guitars
with the Ludecus and Wolter label, in addition to the label of Martin & Schatz.
Illustrated in "The Martin Story: A Brief History of the Martin Guitar Company".
C.F Martin & Co.
Illustrated in "Inventing the American Guitar: The Pre–Civil War Innovations of C. F. Martin and His Contemporaries".
n.b. This book shows a significantly different bracing pattern than the photo above shows to be true, and the narrative implies an evolution from ladder to fan bracing,
while fan bracing was not "evolved" by Martin, but copied from the Spanish guitars he observed.
Illustrated in Gura, "C. F. Martin and His Guitars, 1796-1873":
Illustrated in Washburn & Johnston, "Martin Guitars: An Illustrated Celebration of America's Premier Guitarmaker".
Illustrated in "Inventing the American Guitar: The Pre–Civil War Innovations of C. F. Martin and His Contemporaries", where a diagram erroneously shows a
significantly different bracing pattern than the photo above shows to be true, and the narrative implies an evolution from ladder to fan bracing, while fan bracing
was not "evolved" by Martin, but copied from the Spanish guitars he observed.
Illustrated in Carter "Acoustic Guitars and Other Fretted Instruments".
Illustrated in Bacon, "History of the American Guitar"
earlymartin.com
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