For well over a century and a half, The Martin Guitar Company has been continuously producing acoustic guitars that are acknowledged to be the finest for playing music in the world. The Company has, through the years, managed to survive with each succeeding generation from C. F. Martin, Sr.'s Stauffer influenced creations of the 1830s to recent developments introduced by C. F. Martin IV. Continuous operation under family management is a feat bordering on the remarkable, reflecting six generations of dedication to the guitar maker's craft. In or out of the music industry, C. F. Martin has few rivals for sheer staying power.

Shortly before the turn of 1800, an American success story began in Germany. In a small town, a child was born into the Martin family of wood workers. The family had traditionally made furniture and cabinets. Young Christian joined the trade, but discovered a passion for creating musical instruments. While still a fresh faced teen, the young man would move to the city and start training with Johann Stauffer, one of the best known guitar manufacturers of the era.

Accepted business practices in the early days of making a Martin guitar were far removed from today's methods and reflected a simpler society. Barter was common in the retail trade. C. F. Martin's personal records contain numerous entries of trading musical merchandise for everything from a case of wine to children's clothing. New York City's teeming Lower East Side was a harsh environment that was a world apart from the pastoral Saxony where Martin and his family grew up.

In the ensuing years, the company experienced several exciting commercial and technological breakthroughs. Historical records show C.F. Martin and company selling guitars through high profile retailers in New York City, and through other busy ports of call. Additionally, guitars showed up along many cities serviced by waterways, as this was prior to the railroads crossing the continent.

Martin's shipping records made frequent mention of sales in Boston, Albany, Philadelphia, Richmond, Petersburg, Nashville, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and New Orleans. Business in the period was obviously satisfactory, for in an advertisement in 1850 the company declared, "C. F. Martin Guitar Maker, respectfully informs the musical public generally that the great favor bestowed upon him has induced him to enlarge his factory, in order to supply the increasing demand for his instruments."

Martin Guitar has always adhered to the highest standards of musical excellence, and it has also been managed very competently. This probably explains the company's remarkable success throughout its many years in business. Their choice of products and their marketing have changed over time, but the company's basic attitude to guitar-making has always been the same. Frank Henry Martin is known for having said to potential buyers, "A good guitar cannot be made for the same price as a poor one, but nobody regrets the extra cost of a good guitar." This statement of policy was uttered almost eighty years ago, but it still accurately reflects the attitude at Martin Guitar.

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