1925 Martin 00-28.  Serial number 23500.  This one-hundred-year-old guitar was purchased from the original family in January of 2025.  It is in exquisite original condition except for the following:  A ¼” end pin jack was installed some years ago to accommodate a Barcus Berry pick up.  Fortunately, the pick up was easily removed with no damage or residue from the adhesive.The end pin hole has been repaired and now accommodates a regular size end pin.  Pro work (details of this job on request).  There was a strap button installed at the bottom of the neck heel.It was removed and filled.  The bridge plate had some wear around the pin holes.  These were professionally repaired so the original thin maple plate was saved.  A perfect pro neck set was performed with a new bone saddle.  Original nut remains.  Original bridge pins.  Everything else, including the finish, remains in its original condition.  This is a spectacular example of one of Martin’s most revered builds.  Braced for steel. The tone in this guitar is other-worldly.  Exhibits the “it” factor all vintage players know when they hear that tone.

At this point, the back story needs to be told as it helps explain other aspects of this incredibly well-preserved historically significant guitar.  It was stamped at the factory on October 7th, 1925, and shipped on November 17th, 1925.  It was one of 23 built that year.

I purchased this guitar from the grandson, now 70, of the original owner.  The guitar was given to his grandfather as a wedding gift.  Grandfather didn’t play but was enamored with the Hawaiian slack key music popular at the time.  So, it seems grandpa made a feeble attempt to play this genre but soon gave up.  He kept the guitar cased and would only bring it out to show off to his friends.  It passed onto his son who didn’t play at all and was cased in the closet for decades.  The grandson was and is a musician and composer.  He graduated from the Manhattan Conservatory of Music with a degree in composition.  He is also a multi-instrumentalist.  So, he’s the one who had the Barcus Berry pickup installed right in front of the bridge plate.  He used nylon strings and played in an orchestra pit for about ten years.  He told me the guitar was essentially played for ten years and sat in its case for the other ninety.  Its fabulous original condition attests to that statement.

Adirondack top over Brazilian Rosewood back and sides. There is pick wear below the sound hole and is well shown in the pics. That’s really the only wear there is on this guitar. Crack free with only superficial indications of handling.  All internal bracing/bridge plate original and intact.  Original ebony bridge and bridge pins.  Original ebony fretboard and bar frets.  Original 1 13/16” nut.  Beautiful original Waverly three-on-a-plate tuners with pinecones engraved.   Weighs in at an incredible 2.147 lbs.  Housed in a new Martin three-latch case that fits her perfectly.

The guitar plays effortlessly with low action and great break angle over the saddle.  She has long been strung with a hybrid steel string set with no top distortion or pulling of the bridge in any way.  String gauge set is .050; .040; .032; .024; .016; .012.  She handles steel strings without an issue, is professionally dialed in, and in extremely healthy shape.  I can’t say this for sure, but I would submit that she’s one of the nicest examples extant. NOTE: I'm not sure of the material used to make the bridge pins and nut. I am sure they are original, so I suspect they are made of ivory, but I can't say that for certain.

On a guitar of this value, serious buyers will want to talk to me directly. So my card is embedded in the photos. Reach out at any time.

Free overnight shipping anywhere in the United States. Interested international buyers should contact me by the aforementioned method. The Brazilian on this guitar is now exempt from CITES restrictions as it was built well before the cut off dates in the most recent guidelines.