C. F. Martin Style 26 Guitar
C.F. Martin c1870 2 1/2 - 26
Beautiful Rare Original Condition Style 26.
The back and sides of guitar are French Polished Brazilian Rosewood, the top is red spruce, and the fingerboard is of simple ebony, without inlays, as was customary at the time. The tuning pegs, nut, saddle, top and back body binding, and end pin binding are all made of ivory. A wood marquetry border is inlaid on the top of the guitar and into the rosette. Abalone is inlaid into the ivory bridge pins and end pin, and genuine horn button on the back of the headstock. Beautiful wood marquetry with arrow design in backstripe. Dove tail joined headstock and neck with volute. Scalloped X style braces.
Serial numbers were not given to Martin guitars until 1898. The date is handwrtitten on the underside of the top of earlier guitars, but not until the 1880's. "C. F. Martin & Co. New York" is stamped inside the guitar upside down on the neck block, and on the center strip inside the back. "C. F. Martin New York" is stamped on the back of the headstock. The guitar comes with it's original wooden "Coffin" style case, with a paper label inside reading "C.F. Martin & Co., Manufacturers of Guitars etc. Size of G. 2 1/2 Number of Quality 26
THIS GUITAR WAS FOUND IN A HOUSE OUT EAST WHERE IT HAD LAID UNDISTURBED FOR OVER 130 YEARS! THE ONLY THING IT NEEDED WAS TO HAVE THE ORIGINAL BRIDGE PROFESIONALLY REGLUED. ~~NO CRACKS~~ ORIGINAL FRENCH POLISH FINISH IN SUPER CONDITION! AND THE COFFIN CASE LINING IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION WITH NO BUG DAMAGE OR UNPLEASANT MILDEW ODOR THAT IS SO OFTEN ENCOUNTERED!
Ebony overlay on solid peghead
Elephant Ivory friction tuners
Horn strap button with abalone center
Two piece cedar neck with decorative diamond design
12 fret neck
Elephant Ivory nut
Unbound ebony fretboard
Bar frets
Elephant Ivory heel cap
Highly figural, 1870's quality, bookmatched solid Brazilian Rosewood sides and back
Solid Adirondack Spruce top
Soundhole rosette with 5-9-5 pattern (black & white woods, the wider 2 rings in the center are Elephant Ivory)
Ebony pyramid bridge
Elephant Ivory saddle
Elephant Ivory endpins with abalone centers (not standard on style 26)
Horn endpin with abalone center
Elephany Ivory insert at bottom by endpin
Elephant Ivory binding front & back (lowest style to get Ivory binding)
Top purfling half-herringbone
Back purfling gold wood inlay next to binding (standard was white)
Marquetry on back center "multicolored long arrowhead" (type used in the early 1870's on style 27 and higher)
French polish finish
X-bracing
Back of peghead stamped "C.F. Martin- New York"
Neck block stamped (upsidedown) "C.F. Martin & Co.- New York"
Center strip in soundhole stamped "C.F. Martin & Co.- New York"
No Serial number
No date in pencil under top (as done in the 1880's-1890's)
Black coffin case with early 1870's style label marked in ink "2 1/2-26"
earlymartin.com
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