SKU: HL.1596
Reference. Guitar
Reference. Softcover. 252
pages. Published by
Centerstream Publications
(HL.1596).
ISBN
9781574242799. UPC:
884088651954. 7x11
inches.
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 study the
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!
Eric Martin
