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    It’s beyond rare to find a guitar from the early Martin – Coupa - Schmidt – Maul – Schatz era in this state of preservation. And one this large. This rare model Schmidt & Maul guitar – by the original C.F. Martin's most famous colleagues and contemporaries– is signed and dated, October 18th, 1852, and is in its original coffin case. And best of all– it plays wonderfully, with low action. A unique piece of American guitar history– not for hanging on the wall but to play. The instrument is signed on the underside of the top: Louis Schmidt Tompkinsville  Staten Island New York   388 Broadway October 18th  1852 U.S. This higher end, Spanish neck/heel (not ice-cream cone) Schmidt & Maul is bigger than all the Schmidt & Maul, Schmidt, or George Maul guitars that have come up for sale in the past decades (and not many of any kind have come up for sale). It’s a bit larger than a size 2 Martin, with a width at lower bout of 12 3/16 inches.(Every other Schmidt & Maul that has come to market has been a smaller guitar.) The guitar is braced inside (all original) with an early X-bracing variation similar to the 1953 Schmidt & Maul featured on p. 213 of the book “Inventing the American Guitar– The Pre-Civil War Innovations of C.F. Martin and His Contemporaries” edited by Robert Shaw and Peter Szego. (Hal Leonard Books, 2013). Like the 1853 guitar illustrated in that book, this guitar has bracing on top and back that is very close to the guitar that CF Martin and Schatz made for Madame de Goni. With all original finish, original ebony bridge, and original Jerome tuners– it’s in remarkable condition. To get the best of both worlds– historically authenticity and playability– the guitar has just had a recent neck set, original bridge reglue, and other minor work including new saddle, by one of the country’s top luthiers and authorities for early Martin and early American guitars– Steve Kovacik. All work was done by Steve to historically correct preservation standards after extensive examination and consultation. (Note, in the photo: the picture of the signature inside the guitar: the two cleats are not later repairs– rather they are two center seam-stabilizing cleats put in by the original luthiers in 1852.) Amazingly, this guitar plays in tune up and down the fretboard. Thank the original luthiers at 388 Broadway for that– they had the foresight to add slight compensation (not angled saddle compensation but cheating the saddle back a bit) to the bridge/saddle. Not even CF Martin did that in those years). And thanks to Steve Kovacik for setting this instrument up with low action not ballpark “19th century” action. The Adirondack top is crack-free. Crack-free sides. There are two almost imperceptible cracks on the back– you have to look hard to see them, both addressed by Steve Kovacik.
    • “Schmidt & Maul New York” stamps on neck block, and center strip inside guitar
    • X-braced, all original braces inside
    • Spanish foot construction
    • Radiused Ebony fretboard
    • All historically correct bar fret replacement by Steve Kovacik (not too high, and not too thick– correct size bar frets were used, properly finished)
    • Original bridge plate, in fine condition
    • Original Jerome tuners and buttons
    • Original nut, and saddle, in case. New nut and saddle by Steve Kovacik
    • Rosette: shares a feature with early Martins– a variant of the "tooth" rosette– a three ring rosette with green "tooth" inner ring, and small "rope" outer rings
    • Marquetry Purfling around top, + Maple binding
    • Back purfling (backstrip): see Martin Guitars: A Technical Reference, p. 13: this is a “Pre-1867 style 34” Martin style purfling
    • Maple binding, back
    • Solid Adirondack top
    • Solid brazilian rosewood back and sides
    • Cedar, Spanish style neck and heel
    • Width at lower bout: 12 3/16 inches
    • Body length: 18 ¼ inches
    • Nut width: 1 15/16 inches
    • String spacing at bridge: 2 5/16
    • Scale length: 24 ½ inches (But there is a slight compensation: 12th fret to the saddle– Schmidt and Maul added a touch of compensation !
    • Original scooped-back ebony bridge
    • 100% original finish. No overspray, touch-up, etc. anywhere…wonderful finish
    This instrument sounds and plays differently than the early Martins we’ve had. It’s stronger in the trebles and mids, not the bass strings. With this instrument, it means a guitar that responds to a more delicate touch– you barely have to pick or strum, to get wonderful tone. After careful experimentation for the best tone, we’ve put German Thomastik-Infeld Classic S, Precision KF110 strings on the guitar (totally within the tension levels appropriate for a 19th century guitar of this stature). The result is a guitar that responds to a very light touch, and really delivers– a nuanced, bright and glassy, brazilian tone– in the higher frets especially. Unlike 19th century Martins, it’s a joy to play especially in frets 5-14, with very low action that lets you explore the octaves and harmonics in places you’d typically not go to in such an early guitar. And with endless brazilian sustain. The guitar is in its original hand-made wood coffin case, that still has its original fabric lining, and all hardware, all in great condition .... No longer available....
  • Circa 1860 parlor guitar style 1 built by well known luthier, James Ashborn of Wolcottville, CT, for William hall & son music store. Brazilian rosewood back and sides; Adirondack top; maple binding. This guitar is crack free save for a couple of minor finish cracks on back, and is 100% original, including all original finish, and down to original nut, original bridge (and saddle) that has never been off the guitar, and original bridge pins. From a just-published article in Vintage Guitar magazine: “Ashborn's design for the guitar was quite innovative for the early 19th century. Instead of making guitars fashioned after the typical parlor-style guitars, he made them in the Spanish style, by taking interior bracing cues from the Spanish while retaining the body of the English guitars. This included a fan brace pattern rather than the more common ladder pattern Ashborn guitars have a very complex dovetail V joint for attaching the head to the neck. The headstock was cut in roughly five steps, using some kind of tracing router, as suggested by the chatter marks on the inside ears of the pegbox. In addition to the complex head design, Ashborn made his own tuning machines in-house. They're made of brass, very much like contemporary machines, with worm gears, cog gears, and rollers. … Ashborn's shop was extremely advanced for its time, having a great deal of know-how and technology. Ashborn understood the need to have the technology as well as the skill, but more importantly he discovered a new way of making high-quality instruments that were affordable. He was able to create a factory environment where workers did what they were good at and, with practice, became very fast and consistent. With a new level of consistency in mass production, he created the path followed by other companies such as Martin, Gibson, and Taylor. Using designs ahead of his time, he was able to bring the sound and change to people who otherwise never would have been able to acquire an instrument of this quality.” This beautiful all-original and crack-free Ashborn guitar is one of the best-preserved examples in existence.
  • Considered by many to be most charming, intimate, 19th century Martin parlor guitar, the Martin 3-17 features Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, Adirondack spruce top, and Jerome tuners. This particular instrument, with an unbelievably beautiful, lyrical voice, was made in the early 1850’s, as we can tell by several clues. It’s a lot like Mark Twain’s famous Martin 2 ½-17 (see photo). Of course, it has to have the “CF Martin New York” not “CF Martin & Co” stamps– as this one does, to make it a pre-1867 Martin. Also, according to Martin scholars, Jerome tuners seem to have faded out by the late 1850s, to be replaced with similar tuners with a shorter plate and no name stamp. It is unusual on this guitar that the Jerome tuners are German silver, as most of the style 17 guitars have brass tuners. With the “tulip-shaped” tuner buttons, experts date the guitar to the early 1850s. The top is fan braced. Measurements are: body length 17.25″, lower bout width 11.125″, upper bout width 8.25″, overall length 35.75″, scale length just shy of 24 inches. 12 fret cedar neck with ice cream cone heel. Note that the black paint on the back of the neck and back of headstock was removed in some previous century– that does give a nice look at the cedar that would normally be obscured by the black “ebonized” paint. The body of the guitar had some overspray, but it turned out go be one of those fortunate occasions where it was light and really just sitting on top of the original finish, so we are able to easily remove it and reveal the original finish. A couple of small hairline cracks in back, repaired. Top and sides are crack-free. Reproduction ebony bridge. Original bar frets. Original Jerome Silver tuners, with original buttons. Original bracing and bridge plate. “C.F. MARTIN / NEW YORK” hot stamped on back, inside back brace and heel block (but the back stamp is faded). A previous owner of this guitar had a custom hard shell case made– it’s a professional quality, premium case that protects the guitar quite well– it’s heavy and sturdier than most new expensive hard shell cases. Historical interest aside (pre-civil war Martin guitars are rare), this guitar plays wonderfully. It projects the sweetest, but robust, glassy trebles, and clear mids and bass notes. It’s just a joy to play, and it just floats in your hands. (Note: 19th century Martins can be fitted with: gut strings, classical guitar strings, or extra light steel strings– depending on the guitar. It’s really a case-by-case basis, determining whether a particular 19th century Martin can “hold” or “withstand” very light gauge steel strings for example. One size does not fit all. And different 19th century Martins sound better with different strings. In this case, with this particular guitar, extra light steel strings are perfect. It can hold them fine– due to the structure of the top, the bridge plate, and bridge. And it plays and sounds perfect with those strings. This guitar is real find in that regard– not for the collector’s wall but for the player who wants to experience what the original CF Martin felt when he held this instrument in his hands in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, when Abraham Lincoln had not the slightest inkling he’d be in the White House and was just forging a reputation as an outstanding lawyer and earning the nickname of ‘Honest Abe’, and the New York Times was just commencing operations, and the first oil well had just been drilled in the United States by “Colonel” Edwin Drake in Titusville, Pennsylvania– that despite being in C.F. Martin’s state was darn near the old west at the time. In a custom made, professional quality hard shell case.