Martin 1-42 1917 - Natural

Beautiful in appearance and in sound, an exceedingly rare and well preserved guitar with few repairs. See video on YouTube at “1917 Martin 1-42 demo steel strings.” According to Greig Hutton, this guitar, made in 1917, was shipped from the factory on July 13, 1918 to Sherman, Clay & Co., San Francisco. The Size 1 is often mistaken for a Size 0 because it shares the same 24.9 scale, and identical overall length of the Size 0 with not even an inch difference in body width. Additionally, just like the size 0, the size 1 also features a deeper body than a Martin 000 at 4 3/16” delivering big guitar tone, volume, and resonance. The back and sides are top grade Brazilian Rosewood and the Adirondack Spruce top is X-braced,(which appears a little beefier than most to my eye, (see photo,) with style 42 pearl/abalone trim. The bridge, nut, and binding on the body are original and made of ivory. The period correct bridge pins are made of ivory with abalone/pearl inlays.The bridge-plate is original. The neck is straight and the top is flat and free of any distortion. The fingerboard is made of darkest Ebony adorned with Style 42 snowflake inlays. The bar frets are in good condition without excessive wear. Intonation and action are excellent making this instrument a genuine pleasure to play. The repair history over the past 109 years is not discouraging at all and includes the following: The neck and headstock are the standard pre-1918 2-piece Spanish Cedar joined with an extremely strong V joint which has likely been re-glued at some point in the guitar’s long history, accounting for presence of subtle professional overcoating on the back of the headstock around the joint-lock. X-Rays provided with this listing reveal a clean, impregnable joint, leaving the neck and headstock structurally sound and strong as ever without evidence of damage whatsoever. There is a nearly invisible “grain crack” repair in the top and a couple of likewise small minor crack repairs to the back, and a very tiny crack repair on one side. French polish or professional light overspray appears in places on the top, headstock, and around a couple of body crack repairs but is quite thin, subtle, and pleasing in appearance. The original ivory bridge has been professionally re-glued. All work is quite stable and does not diminish from the guitar’s integrity, beauty, tone or volume. Prior to 1918, Martin chose ivory for it’s finest guitar bridges, not only for elegance, but for production of optimum tone, sustain, and volume. However, Martin discontinued ivory during World War One in 1918 due to lack of availability amidst shipping disruptions. Post-War economics, and later wildlife conservation concerns, dictated the end of proper ivory bridges. Joan Baez played and recorded with an ivory bridge 0-40 Martin, (now in the Martin Factory Museum,) during her most active years in the sixties, (LP album cover photo included.) Early 20th century premium “Irish Rose“ engraved nickel plated “German Silver” tuners are period and style 42 correct, and have replaced previously installed unadorned tuners, (also included/same footprint.)The beveled-edge pick-guard, correct Martin design, was added later. The bone saddle, a replacement, offers generous room for height reduction while currently set within recommended industry specs of 2.7mm at 12 fret low E, for easy action and comfortable play. The neck has undergone a perfectly executed professional reset finished off with a couple of tiny cleats on the inside of the body out of view. The instrument was strung with light steel strings when I bought it, which the guitar handled well. The neck width is pleasingly 1 6/8” at the nut rather than the typical period width of 1 7/8,” a fact which is not unusual for a Size 1 Martin during this era, according to Greig Hutton. For my playing style, the guitar currently has nylon strings which faithfully deliver Martin‘s bold and beautiful tone. If you prefer steel, returning to a set of very light steel strings poses no difficulty as demonstrated in my video. The guitar comes with a rare period Geib&Schaefer purple-lined hardshell case in good condition, which fits perfectly and is believed to be original to the instrument. A case like this when sold alone commands ridiculous prices. If you’ve never experienced the exquisite sound of a vintage 1-42, there is an expert demonstration that’s much better than mine on YouTube of an identical 1-42 that I also previously owned, and sold on Reverb in 2021. The video can be viewed at “Martin 1-42 Blue-G.” Free Shipping but I‘ll only ship this instrument to lower 48 States. I’m glad to answer any questions you may have on any aspect of this guitar. This listing is a rare opportunity to acquire a well preserved investment grade pre-war Brazilian/Pearl Martin at a reasonable and decidedly under-market price. Purchase safely with my No Hassle 3 Day Return Policy.