The 12 Fret Martin Dreadnaught Returns
The first Dreadnaught guitars were the 12 fret Hawaiian "Extra Large" guitars built for the Ditson Company in 1916, which were given the name "Dreadnaught" after the huge British battleships used in WW I. The name of the ships was actually spelled with an "O", and Martin changed to the proper spelling to Dreadnought in the 1960's. Martin built 28 Style 111 and four Style 222 Dreadnaughts. Sales were poor, to the eventual point where Martin could not produce them profitably.
After the Charles Ditson Company Store in New York closed their doors in 1930, Martin eventually built two D-1 guitars and 7 D-2 guitars, equivalent to what are now known as D-18 and D-28, for the Chicago Musical Instrument Co. Soon after, Martin changed the names to D-18 and D-28, but these were still special order guitars, and sales were still slow.
Four years after Martin began building "Orchestra Model" guitars in 1929, they finally built their first "Orchestra Model" 14 Fret Dreadnaught, stamped on February 22, 1934, which they sold to the Chicago Musical Instrument Co.
Eventually the 14 fret Dreadnaught began to dominate, and Martin all but forgot about 12 fret Dreadnaughts. The last of the pre-war 12 fret Dreadnaughts was produced in 1939.
The 1960's D-28-S
On Monday, January 29, 1962, Peter, Paul & Mary signed to Warner Bros. receiving a $30,000 advance.
By Tuesday of the following week, on February 6th, Martin stamped the neck block on Peter’s D-28S, ordered with funds from the Warner Bros. advance.
On this recording, Peter still used his Martin 0-16NY and Noel "Paul" used his 00-18G. These guitars appear on the famous front cover of the album, in a photo taken in front of the brick wall of the "Bitter End" coffeehouse in Greenwich Village. Months before Peter lost his fight with cancer, Peter and Noel donated these guitars to the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Here is a photo I took of Peter and Noel on the night these guitars were donated:
From what Peter has told me, he certainly didn't know at the time that the original D-28 was a 12 fret, or even that Martin had ever made a 12 fret Dreadnaught before. He just asked Martin if they could build a guitar with a 12 fret neck like his 0-16NY on the larger Dreadnaught body. Before PP&M, Peter had played and loved a vintage 00-21which was lost.
Here's a photo I took of Peter with his D-28S in 1966:
It appears that the first 12 fret Martin D-28S built previously to Peter's, was #175091, stamped on November 9, 1960. Other D-28S were produced, but it appears that they were mostly, if not all, special order 14 fret D-28 with other features, not 12 frets. Most were built in the 1950's, when double and special extra large guards were popular. The one from 1960 is likely the first of Martin's postwar D-28S “Standards". I've been told that the 1960 D-28S was later given a new 12 fret neck with a 1 3/4" nut, an inlaid line of pearl in the wood between the inner and middle rosette ring, and an oversized black pick guard.
Two more were produced in late 1961.
Peter's guitar was sadly stolen on the grounds of the Philadelphia Folk Festival in 1972 by a young man who asked Peter for advice on becoming a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, and then offered to help Peter carry it. Peter was more disturbed by having the guitar stolen by someone professing to not believe in war than he was with the guitar being stolen.
A twin to Peter's D-28S was ordered at the same time as Peter's, for folksinger Dick Rosmini. Peter later purchased this guitar from Dick to help him with funds when Dick was dying of cancer.
One more was produced four months after Peter's for Cyrus Faryar, an Iranian born singer who had lived in Hawaii. Faryar was a friend of Dave Guard of the Kingston Trio, a founding member of the Modern Folk Quartet, a producer of Firesign Theater, led the "Group With No Name" performing at Monterey Pop, and recorded sessions with Fred Neil, Linda Ronstadt, and Cass Elliott.
Peter seems to have later ordered a second D-28S, which appears to be the one he lent to Bob Dylan on that fateful night at Newport in 1965 to follow his electric set with "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" on Peter's guitar. That guitar had a standard Martin pick guard. Peter's memory was sketchy on the details, but knowing Peter as I do, that guitar was most likely left in the trunk of a New York City cab.
2/6/62
1 D-28S
#181847
S. O. # 148
Dick Rosmini
2/6/62
1 D-28S
#181848
S. O. # 148
Peter Yarrow
Here's a photo I took of my brother Peter in his apartment with the Rosmini D-28S...
D-28 Special Wurlitzer
With the immense popularity of Peter, Paul, and Mary, and the great interest in wanting to play their folk songs, the E. U. Wurlitzer Store in Boston ordered a couple of 12 fret D-28 about six months later, which were stamped on July 19, 1962 as "D-28SW" for "Special Wurlitzer".
1964 D-28SW
Serial #196049
In total, 30 D-28SW were produced between 1962 and 1968, as well as six D-35SW in 1966 and 1968. Most had slotted headsocks, but some with solid heads.
I’ve put together a timeline of the Special Wurlitzers:
7/19/62
2 D-28 SW
#184396-97
S. O. # 331
1/4/63
4 D-28 SW
#187435-38
S. O. # 534
11/12/63
4 D-28 SW
#192595-98
S. O. # 894
(#598 left handed)
6/15/64
11 D-28 SW
#196049-53
S. O. # 273
2/15/65
3 D-28 SW
#200473-75
S. O. # 534
6/6/66
3 D-35SW
#211292-94
S. O. # 297
12/1/68
3 D-35SW
#230283-85
S. O. # 511
1/22/68
6 D-28 SW
#232925-30
S. O. # 577
After several individual and small orders, in 1965, 1966, and 1977, Martin introduced the 12 fret Dreadnaughts into their product line, stamping 25 D-18S and 25 D-28S in December of 1967, followed by 25 D-35S at the end of January, 1968.
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