Extensive Martin Mandolin Collection

[red7flag]

Thanks to Charles Johnson, Mandolin World Headquarter, NFI, who sent me this picture of his amazing Martin mandolin collection and gave permission to share with you guys. Notice that it moves from left, As (the least decorated) to right, Es (the most decorated). Enjoy. Just to clarify, this is Charles' personal collection and not for sale. Just thought you guys would be as amazed as I was.

[fifths]

That's obscene! Interesting too that two have a different (Partridge Family?) pick guard shape.

[fatt-dad]

Charles has a problem. . .

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

(Local boy)

f-d

[John Soper]

There are worse things to collect...

[Rob Norton]

That's obscene! Interesting too that two have a different (Partridge Family?) pick guard shape.

That's the pick guard they used in the first years they made the flat back mandolins, 1914-1916, according to the Mike Longworth book.

The one third from the right, front row on top of the table, looks to be a Style E (like a style 45 guitar), and Longworth says they made only 3 in 1914, and no others till 1917, when it would have had the newer, more familiar pick guard. So that is one seriously rare mandolin.

If Charles sees this, it would be great to see some individual pictures of that mandolin--and maybe the story that goes along with it.

[Tavy]

Now there's a feller with fine taste

And a lot cheaper than collecting Gibsons!

[William Smith]

Oh don't worry Charles has a Gibson stable as well! Is that a sunburst Martin in the back 3rd from right? Very Kool collection!

[MikeEdgerton]

Oh don't worry Charles has a Gibson stable as well! Is that a sunburst Martin in the back 3rd from right? Very Kool collection!

Sunburst? On a Martin? Nah, that's a shade top

I own a Martin Shade top guitar. I don't know if that was company marketing or just Martin owner's that called it that.

[JeffD]

Beautiful stuff.

[nmiller]

I own a Martin Shade top guitar. I don't know if that was company marketing or just Martin owner's that called it that.

For most of the '30s it was just called a "dark top" in Martin catalogs, but by 1940 it was called a "shaded dark top". Most companies used the term "shaded" at the time; the term "sunburst" was probably coined by Gibson in the mid '40s and wasn't widely adopted by other companies until the '60s.

[MikeEdgerton]

There you go. Thanks.