Martin and Schatz / Martin & Coupa
This double label Martin & Schatz / Martin & Coupa was one of the first guitars sold by John Coupa, a classical player who both introduced Martin to the guitars of Cadiz, Spain, and then sold the Spanish Style Martin guitars to his fellow players in the New York guitar community, becoming Martin's distributor in New York as the Martins made the move to start a new life in the countryside of Pennsylvania. It may very likely have built by Martin's friend Heinrich Schatz, who preceded Martin to both America and Pennsylvania, while Martin was settling in his new home and workshop. The Martin family, eager to leave the city, had been staying with the Schatz family while Mr. Martin had been settling his affairs in New York.
Built in the old world tradition with Viennese gears, this guitar also includes the fan bracing adapted from the guitars of Cadiz, Spain as well as the narrow early Spanish "plantilla" or body shape, and is also one of the first Martins known with a pyramid style bridge.
This instrument was built with a two piece rosewood back with no center strip, and rosewood sides.
Heinrich Schatz, while several years younger than Martin, had studied with Martin in the workshop of Stauffer in Vienna. This is a rare example showing the building partnership of Martin & Schatz, as well as including the label of Martin & Coupa, as Coupa was beginning to serve as Martin's distributor in New York after Martin left the city.
This guitar also sports an early example of a Martin pyramid bridge. This unusual quite tall and boxy example is a Spanish tie style bridge, with the wide ivory saddle, as well as the scooped back which would be retained in the earliest pyramid pin style bridges.
Like the earlier double label Martin & Schatz / Ludecus & Wolter guitar, this guitar is also interesting in having solid, bent linings, and an early thicker form of the shelf under the neck block that we will see in the later Martin & Coupa guitars. It also has the rounded neck block that we will see in the Martin & Coupas, indicating that these design ideas may very well have originated with Mr. Schatz.
Another interesting thing that is unique in this and the other double label Martin & Schatz guitar is the is the use of the Spanish style wood brackets on the sides known as "horqueta" that we will typically only see joining the pieces on Martin's Spanish style guitars with two piece sides
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