Neapolitan mandolin
Maker
C. F. Martin & Co.
Distributor
Stratton & Handley
(distributor)
Date1902
Place MadeNazareth, Pennsylvania, United States, North America
Serial No.1046
SignedStamped on neck block: C. F. MARTIN & CO / NAZARETH, PA.MarkingsStamped below signature: 1046.
Stamped on metal covering of tailpiece: PAT. MAY 15 ’94
Stamped(?) on back of peghead: MARTIN
DescriptionAccording to Martin company records, the instrument was started on September 17, 1902 for Stratton & Handley.
Mandolins were the most ornately decorated instruments produced by Martin. The mid-grade Style 4 from 1902 exhibits more extensive decoration than even the company’s top-of-the-line guitars or the NMM’s 1917 Style 6A mandolin (NMM 3852). When the market demanded it, Martin could supply sumptuous, beautifully executed decoration, but generally the company preferred a simpler, cleaner aesthetic.
Decoration: mother-of-pearl inlaid fret markers & inlay in celluloid pickguard, decorative wood inlay around soundhole and purfling
Top: spruce
Sides: ribs of rosewood
Neck: Spanish cedar
Peghead: Spanish cedar
Frets: nickel-silver
Tailpiece: nickel-plated
Fingerboard: rosewood
Bridge: rosewood
Saddle: bone
Nut: bone
Tuning machines: metal
Tuner heads: ivory celluloid
DimensionsTotal instrument length: 61 cm (24”)
Fingerboard length: 23 cm (9 1/16”)
Nut to bridge: 33.6 cm (13 7/32”)
Nut to neck and body joint: 14.5 cm (5 11/16”)
Belly width/diameter: 20.3 cm (8”)
Fingerboard width at nut: 3.0 cm (1 3/16”)
Fingerboard width at body joint: 4.0 cm (1 9/16”)
Body depth: 14 cm (5 1/2”)
Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979
Object number03604
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