| Initialed and dated in pencil on the underside of the top by Frank Henry Martin, who added the serial number (also stamped on the neck block). One of the nicest and most original 00-28 models Gryphon has had in recent years, as it has no cracks anywhere, no finish touch-up, and no signs of any repairs. We've had this guitar for some time but with the Covid Craziness never found time to clean it. The amount of fine dirt that had accumulated was astounding, and cleaning cloths kept turning almost black as the original finish was revealed. The minor wear to the top tells us this guitar was played at some point, but not much and not for long. Strange as it may sound, the gentle layers of dirt that had settled over the top probably helped protect the original finish to some extent. This guitar came to us with no case, Martin was no longer supplying the wood coffin cases by this time, and instead the guitars were shipped in tooled leather cases that opened at the bottom and had a thin plush lining. The harsh dye used to make the leather fashionably black dried it out, very few such cases lasted into mid-century. While this guitar is technically a 20th century Martin, the company paid little attention to the calendar and as a result it's virtually identical to similar models made ten or even twenty years earlier. Frank Henry Martin and his small crew had added bowl-back mandolins in the late 1890s, but little else had changed. Not until the demand for ukuleles and Hawaiian guitars hit the little Pennsylvania workshop in the mid-teens did Martin finally enter the musical mainstream of contemporary America. Clearly intended for gut strings, we've strung it with high-tension nylon, and the friction pegs are well-fitted so it tunes easier than most friction-peg guitars and has a robust tone. Comes in a nice Lifton 00 case from the '50s or early 1960s. |
1907 Martin 00-28 Acoustic Guitar Used
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