Martin c. 1840 Renaissance Style Guitar
From Martin Historian and Author Richard Johnston:
This is the earliest Martin guitar I have seen in many years, and without doubt the most unusual. Words like “unique” and “extremely rare” get tossed around frequently when describing vintage guitars, but in this case we’re not exaggerating. Only seven of these unusual “Renaissance” shape Martins have surfaced to date, and only this one has the sides tapered to fit the contour of the neck heel. (While these body shapes have been commonly called “Renaissance,” they are not related to actual Renaissance period guitars, but were instead probably inspired by contemporary European guitars.) Although we can’t be sure which of the surviving examples of this shape came first, it appears that this is one of earlier ones, because it has the Spanish-influenced tie-block bridge, fan pattern top bracing and internal construction details that Martin had apparently abandoned before the mid-1850s. It is also unusual because the neck is a full 2 inches wide at the nut, and has 20 frets. The small peak at the top of the headstock is a feature which has only been found on one other Martin, an ultra-fancy model with a different version of this body shape that was made in 1852.
This is a size 2 guitar, 12 inches wide at the lower bout made with Brazilian rosewood back and sides, cedar neck and spruce top, with ivory binding and bridge. The French polish finish is completely original. There is one top crack to the top that can be seen in these photos. There is also a hairline crack to the back which is so tight it’s almost invisible. Because this instrument is so original, and the cracks so inconsequential, we have not repaired them. The small pearl dot at the 12th fret was almost certainly added after the guitar was constructed. This could also be made to disappear if one prefers.
Someone added two small bolts to the ivory bridge, but the holes remaining after those bolts were removed are now invisible thanks to the restoration by Frank Ford. Here is Frank's article of the restoration.
http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Guitar/Bridges/IvoryBridgeRepair/ivorybridgerepair.html
With the exception of the bridge restoration and the small dot in the fretboard, this guitar is completely original.
Washburn & Johnston pp. 44 & 45.
Longworth, Boak, and Johnston "Martin Guitars, A History" p. 13.
Longworth, Boak, and Johnston "Martin Guitars, A Technical Reference" p. 12.
Longworth, Boak, and Johnston "Martin Guitars, A Technical Reference" p. 29.
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