(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 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!
