Martin Guitar history

Unhappy with the overcrowded living conditions in New York, Martin and his wife decided to move to Pennsylvania, where they purchased eight acres of land near Nazareth in 1839.

1850: "X-braced" guitar design, which improves strength and tone, is introduced.

In 1859 a factory was built at the corner of Main and North Streets in Nazareth to house the company's now dozen-plus employees.

Some guitars by C.F. Martin Sr. built, got after his arrival in New York label the 'C.F. Martin, Upstairs'. Until 1867 'C.F. Martin, New York' in the inside of the soundboard pressed.

Martin weathered the storm, however, and the company built an addition to its factory in 1887, where steam-powered woodworking machinery was installed.

1888: Frank Henry Martin takes reins upon death of C.F. Martin, Jr.

In 1906, the Royal Navy?s newly built battleship was significantly larger than its predecessors.

The 18th century guitars are fairly small, but in 1917 Henry Frank and an employee designs music publishing Ditson, together a new guitar with a large enclosure.

In 1922 the company also introduced its first standard guitar model designed for use with steel, rather than gut, strings, which required additional internal bracing.

1929: Fourteen-fret Orchestra Model guitar is introduced; format is soon adopted as industry norm.

In 1931 Martin released the C1 model, an arched-top with a different with round resonance hole.

The first D-45 was built in 1933 specifically for Gene Autry and five years later became the official catalog.

Until October 1942 there are 91 D-45 guitars built, the production had to stop because the war.

In 1955 his son Frank Herbert Martin also joined the firm.

The year 1958 saw C.F. Martin & Co. introduce its first electric guitar, an acoustic model with added electrical pickups.

1964: New factory opens on Sycamore St in Nazareth.

In 1968 the D-45 was re-released as much demand for the guitar remained.

During 1970 Vega Banjo Works, Fibes Drum Company, and Darco String Company were all purchased.

In 1973, he assist in the development and construction of the D-28S guitar.

Martin also began importing inexpensive Japanese Sigma guitars to compete with the tide of Martin knockoffs that were flooding the market, and built a new sawmill behind the company's plant in 1974.

Longworth, also a guitar historian, later published the first book-length history of the firm in 1975.

In 1977, after a series of new management directives caused increasing friction, newly unionized Martin workers went on strike.

1986: C. F. Martin IV is named chairman and CEO upon his grandfather's death.

1995: First Martin signature-series guitar debuts; low-cost Backpacker model is introduced.

By 1996 sales topped 23,000, a new company record.

In 1998 construction began on a new $6.5 million, 85,000-square-foot addition to the Sycamore St factory, which had seen a $2.2 million addition less than a decade earlier.

1999: Company spends $6.5 million to expand factory by more than 85,000 square feet.