Martin 1-42 1917 - Natural

Beautiful in appearance and in sound, an exceedingly rare and well preserved instrument with few repairs. Some of you have requested, so I just uploaded a demo video on YouTube at “1917 Martin 1-42 demo steel strings,” (using my phone so please excuse the color being a little off.) According to Greig Hutton, this guitar was shipped from the factory on July 13, 1918 to Sherman, Clay & Co., San Francisco. The Size 1, often confused with a Size 0, has the same 24.9 scale, (which is longer than a Gibson Jumbo or Les Paul Standard for that matter,) and identical overall length of Size 0 with less than an inch difference in body width, featuring a deeper body than a 000 that delivers big guitar tone, volume, and resonance. The back and sides are top grade Brazilian Rosewood and the top is X-braced Adirondack Spruce 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 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 new 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 to produce optimum tone, sustain, and volume. However, the company had to discontinue ivory during World War One due to lack of availability. Post-War economics, and later wildlife conservation concerns, dictated the end of 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 with ivory buttons 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 saddle offers generous room for height reduction while currently set within recommended industry specs of 2.8mm 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 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 at the nut is pleasingly narrower (a hair under 1 3/4,) than the typical period wide 1 7/8,” a fact which is not unusual for a Size 1 Martin during this period, 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. 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 by itself commands ridiculous prices. If you’ve never experienced the exquisite sound of a vintage 1-42, there is an expert demonstration 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.” The size 1 instrument is excellent over a microphone and can flood any venue with bold, powerful, and balanced tone. Just for comparison, the Martin pre-war size 1 is significantly larger than the 3/4 size guitars Ed Sheeran plays on stage in arena concerts. 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.