Vintage Martin 1T Mahogany Tenor Ukelele Nazareth, PA 1940’s-1950’s + Chipboard Case

Vintage Martin 1T Mahogany Tenor Ukelele Nazareth, PA 1940’s-1950’s + Chipboard Case

Absolutely stunning vintage Martin 1T Tenor Ukelele with chipboard case. No cracks or repairs. Light pick marks and some general wear commensurate of age and use.

Comes with vintage, faux gator, chipboard case (possibly GEIB) and rope cord strap that was received with this set. Case is in great condition. All latches and hinges work and handle is secure. Case does show some wear commensurate of age and use but still looks quite nice and functions as intended.

Worldwide Shipping

I may be unable to ship to some destinations for the price listed due to size or other factors.

These instruments are hard to precisely date as they don’t have serial numbers. The attributes of this particular ukelele have narrowed it down to 1944-1959.

The following information was found online according to the attributes of this ukelele.

• Start Date (1936): Cannot be older than 1936 because it features faux-tortoiseshell body binding rather than dark rosewood.
• End Date (1946): Cannot be newer than roughly 1946 because it retains the original black Grover "Champion" patent friction pegs before Martin permanently upgraded the model to metal Waverly tuners with white buttons.
• No USA Stamp (Verified): Fits the required interior stamping rules used strictly by Martin craftsman up through 1961.
• Excellent / Mint Market Value Range $1,900 - $2,200+

Key Evaluation Criteria

100% original finish, completely crack-free wood, perfect bridge adhesion, original frets with no wear, and a clean original faux-gator case.

A Reverb member sent me this information:

The tuners started appearing in 1944 and the larger dots in 1945, but according to Walsh and King, T-frets weren’t introduced until 1947-1948, which would definitely make this a postwar instrument. While it’s hard to date these instruments precisely, there were so many more sold in the fifties than in the immediate postwar period that the odds are it’s a ‘50s instrument. In 1960, Martin replaced the 12th fret body joint design with a 14-fret one, so this one was certainly made in the period 1947-1959. Hope this is of some use.