THE MUSEUM
I woke up in Philly on a Thursday morning , full of excitement . Having spent my whole life on the West Coast , I was finally going to knock off a big item on my bucket-list ! A store I managed back in the ‘ 80s was a Martin dealer , and ever since then I ’ ve wanted to visit the C . F . Martin & Co . factory – and today was the day ! My fond appreciation for Martin guitars has only grown over the years , as I kept ‘ trading up ’ and now I am blessed to own a 1943 ‘ War Era ’ 00-18 . It is the best sounding acoustic guitar I have ever heard . going to lead a small group of us through the Martin museum personally , my bucket-list day got even better !
Having the CEO of this vibrant company tell the story of this American institution from the totally unique perspective of ‘ growing up Martin ’ was more than I could have hoped for . I even got permission to record Chris ’ presentation so I could take you on this amazing journey with me ! comes as no surprise that C . F . also shared his father ’ s interest in building guitars . So , after completing the lengthy and equally arduous apprenticeship required by the local furniture guild , when C . F . announced that he ’ d rather build guitars than furniture , his father gave him his blessing . Keep in mind that in those days , one of the benefits of a family business is that the family participates in the family business . Although ‘ losing a son ’ would have come at a financial cost to Christian ’ s father ( Frederick Georg Martin ), he not only gave his blessing , he sent the fifteen-year-old boy to Vienna to apprentice with Johann Georg Stauffer .
After a ninety-minute drive through the rolling hills of Pennsylvania , I pulled into the Martin parking lot . As soon as I walked into the main entrance of the C . F . Martin & Co . building , who did I see walking right towards me ? None other than Chris Martin IV himself !
Yes , the heir apparent of the family linage that dates back to 1833 . If you do the math , you soon realize that someone from Chris ’ s family has been building iconic guitars while leading the company for the last 185 years . That is amazing ! Then , when I found out that Chris was
C . F . Martin IV Photo : Courtesy C . F . Martin & Co .
Chris led us into the museum which is filled to the brim with a trove of Martin treasure from years , decades , and even centuries past . Chris stopped at each of the enclosed cases to describe their contents in a conversational and personable manner . The tour started with a brief ‘ coming to America ’ history lesson .
Christian Frederick Martin was born on January 31 , 1796 , in Saxony , which is now modernday Germany ). Typical of the times , young C . F . followed in his father ’ s footsteps crafting cabinetry in the family business . It probably
Stauffer ’ s work remains highly regarded for his craftsmanship and for his innovation . He not only designed a detachable neck that enabled players to adjust the action on their instruments , he also crafted fingerboards that extended over the sound hole . Wait – a detachable neck with a fingerboard that extends beyond the neck – that sounds an awful lot like a 22-fret Strat neck ! I digress …
After working his way up to the position of foreman under Stauffer ’ s tutelage , C . F . spent one last fortuitous year in Vienna working for another instrument manufacturer by the name of Karl Kuhle . It would appear that C . F . had as eye on more than Kuhle ’ s instruments as he went on to marry his daughter Ottilie .
Shortly thereafter Christian and new bride returned to C . F .’ s hometown in Saxony with C . F . Martin Jr . in tow . Presumably , C . F . Sr . made this move to support a family which soon grew to
Photo : Courtesy C . F . Martin & Co . |
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