Details
Martin's Style 34 dates back to before the Civil War, when it was one notch below the pearl bordered Style 42. As you can see here, Style 34, with its wide colorful band of marquetry around the perimeter of the top and pearl rosette, made its own fashion statement. This example is original throughout, and was ordered with friction pegs (what Martin called a "peg head") instead of a slotted headstock with right-angle tuners ("machine heads").
This guitar has apparently been in the SF Bay Area its entire life, and came to us with its original tooled leather case. The condition is exceptional, and the colors of the marquetry around the top and up the center of the Brazilian rosewood back, are still vibrant (UV exposure bleaches these dyed veneers, but this guitar has lived in its case). There are no cracks and no signs of any changes, and the friction pegs can possibly be credited with why this guitar was never overstrung with steel strings (it weighs a mere 2 1/2 lbs and was made for use with gut strings).
Playing wear is restricted to minor finger scuffs to the finish where a pickguard would be if it had one. The underside of the top has the serial number and date in pencil, plus an ink stamp reading "J J K" (J. Knecht is listed in a Martin employee time book for June 1891). Even the bridge pins are original, along with matching end pin and "ribbon peg" on the back of the headstock, which was also used for a strap. This guitar is shown on page 43 of "Martin Guitars: A History" (Hal Leonard, 1994 & 2008)
Specs
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Back sides
Brazilian Rosewood
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Binding
original
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Bracing
Scalloped X Pattern
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Bridge
Ebony
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Fingerboard
Ebony
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Finish
French polish
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Frets to body
12
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Neck material
Spanish Cedar
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Nut width
1 7/8"
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Rosette
Pearl
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Saddle spacing
2 11/32"
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Scale length
24.9"
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Top material
Adirondack Spruce
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Total frets
19
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Tuners
Ivory Friction Pegs
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Year
1900
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Case type
Original Leather
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Serial number
8971
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SKU
MAR034-8971
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UPC
142201
