Guitar
Maker
C. F. Martin & Co.
Date1889 December
Place MadeNazareth, Pennsylvania, United States, North America
ModelModel 2-1/2-17
SignedBranded on back graft and neck block: [lettering curved downward at each end] C.F.MARTIN & Co [sic] / ―∙― / NEW_YORK Written in pencil on inside of top, bass side below sound hole: 12 / 89DescriptionThis Martin model 2-1/2-17 was made just prior to some major changes in the model. It features Spanish-style fan bracing rather than an X-brace, and a German-style ebonized neck with "ice-cream-cone" heel.
Stringing: six gut strings
Soundboard: two-piece spruce: very narrow grain broadening to very wide at the edges
Back: two-piece Brazilian rosewood divided by maple strip
Ribs: two-piece Brazilian rosewood divided by ebony end graft strip (slightly wider toward top than bottom) surrounded by light hardwood strips on each side
Head: black-varnished maple; slotted
Neck: black-varnished maple; ice-cream-cone heel
Heel cap: none; heel end set in from back
Binding: top binding rosewood with trim comprised of light hardwood strip, one thin brown hardwood strip, and one each very narrow light and dark hardwood strips; no trim on sides and no binding on back
Fingerboard: ebony; 18 nickel-silver bar frets; no fret markers
Nut: ebony
Bridge: ebony with pyramid sides; separate bone saddle; ebony bridge pins with mother-of-pearl eyes
Tuners: two sets of brass worm gear tuners with decoratively rolled plates and ivory heads
Endpin: ebony with mother-of-pearl eye
Rosette: light, red, and green hardwood chevron surrounded on each side thin light and dark brown hardwood strips; one ring on each side comprised of dark hardwood strip with natural wood in between
Finish: clear
Linings: mahogany; five dark brown cotton cloth strips glued to inside of ribs on each side, running perpendicular to plane of top and back
Neck block: Spanish cedar or mahogany; chamfered corners
End block: Spanish cedar or mahogany; chamfered corners; Spanish cedar or mahogany graft glued at center, perpendicular to top and back
Top braces: three thin and low-height fan braces; two transverse braces, one each above and below soundhole; spruce graft above upper transverse brace; angled spruce grafts on each side of soundhole; four finger braces in lower bout outside outer fans, two on each side; maple bridge plate; center fan brace extends over bridge plate, outer two meet it at edge
Back braces: spruce back graft; five spruce back braces, the two braces in the lower bouts with rounded edges, and wider and lower in height than the two braces in the upper bouts; all braces let into liningDimensionsTotal guitar length: 930 mm (36-5/8″)
Back length: 452 mm (17-13/16″)
Upper bout width: 211 mm (8-5/16″)
Waist width: 175 mm (6-7/8″)
Lower bout width: 294 mm (11-9/16″)
Rib height (including edging) at heel: 79 mm (3-1/8″)
Rib height, at waist: 88 mm (3-15/32″)
Rib height, at end block: 101 mm (3-31/32″)
Head length: 160 mm (6-5/16″)
Head width, top: 69 mm (2-23/32″)
Head width, bottom: 52 mm (2-1/16″)
Neck length (nut to ribs): 313 mm (12-5/16″)
Neck width, nut: 45 mm (1-25/32″)
Neck width, heel: 56 mm (2-3/16″)
Soundhole diameter: 89 mm (3-1/2″)
Vibrating string length (nut to bridge edge): 622 mm (24-1/2″)
Scale length: 622 mm (24-1/2″)ProvenanceNo known provenance.
Credit LineGift of Donna J. Curry, 2021
Object number15621
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