Martin Guitars: A History: Reference Books: Reference

The Martin is considered the finest acoustic guitar in the world a distinction it has held for more that 160 years. Martin guitars have been played by performers Eric Clapton Stephen Stills Judy Collins and Johnny Cash as well as hundreds of thousands of other professional and amateur musicians. In C.F. Martin and His Guitars 1796-1873 Philip Gura chronicles the career of Christian Frederick Martin from his humble start as an importer and repairman of musical instruments in New York City in the 1830s through his move to Nazareth Pennsylvania and the founding of C.F. Martin & Company. Gura is the first historian to thoroughly studythe Martin company records dating back to the 1830s: Letters account books inventories and other documents. Using this rich archive Gura establishes how a German immigrant from Saxony's guild tradition became the finest American guitar maker of his time and created a uniquely American business that successfully eclipsed its competition. As Gura shows Martin's success was based on his successful navigation of the rapid economic expansion and industrialization of his time. The many sketches and hundreds of photographs illustrate how Martin adapted his artisanal craft to modern industrial methods maintaining quality while meeting increased demand for instruments. Gura traces the network of suppliers who provided Martin with his raw materials and explores the advertising and other methods Martin employed to build a market for his goods. After Martin's death in 1873 the company continued to grow. It thrives today under the leadership of a sixth-generation Martin producing instruments that are still the most sought after and collectable in the world. Includes an 80-page color section!

1833 to the Present Day-First published in 2001 and now updated and expanded History of the American Guitar begins in New York City in the 1830s with the arrival of Christian Martin from Germany to set up the Martin company. From that historic moment the book takes readers on a fascinating and comprehensive visual tour of U.S. guitar history. Over 75 brand names are represented with more than 300 guitars photographed in stunning detail including Bigsby Danelectro D'Angelico D'Aquisto Ditson Dobro Dyer Epiphone Fender Gibson Gretsch James Trussart Kay Maccaferri Martin Micro-Frets Mosrite Oahu Ovation Regal Rickenbacker Stella Stromberg Suhr Taylor Vega Washburn Wilkanowski and many more. The interrelated stories of the Guitar Mandolin and Banjo are mixed seamlessly with the history of the diverse American music that grew and prospered with these instruments from country to blues from jazz to rock. The bulk of the instruments illustrated were part of the celebrated collection of Scott Chinery photographed before Chinery's untimely death and the subsequent break-up of his unique collection. The book presents every important episode in the story of the American luthier's art and is an unparalleled resource for every musician collector and music fan.