AN ARCH-TOP GUITAR, F-7

Details

C.F. MARTIN AND SONS, NAZARETH, 1937
AN ARCH-TOP GUITAR, F-7
Inlaid at the headstock C F MARTIN, and stamped on the reverse MADE IN U.S.A., stamped internally C.F. MARTIN & CO / NAZARETH, PA. / F-7 and 66786, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, with original hard-shell case and remnants of the original pickguard within the case
Length of back 20 in. (50.8 cm.)

Special notice

Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice. Lots made of or including (regardless of the percentage) endangered and other protected species of wildlife are marked with the symbol ~ in the catalogue. This material includes, among other things, ivory, tortoiseshell, crocodile skin, rhinoceros horn, whalebone certain species of coral, and Brazilian rosewood. You should check the relevant customs laws and regulations before bidding on any lot containing wildlife material if you plan to import the lot into another country. Several countries refuse to allow you to import property containing these materials, and some other countries require a licence from the relevant regulatory agencies in the countries of exportation as well as importation. In some cases, the lot can only be shipped with an independent scientific confirmation of species and/or age, and you will need to obtain these at your own cost.

Brought to you by

Nathalie Ferneau Head of Sale, Junior Specialist

nferneau@christies.com +1 (212) 636 2236

Lot Essay

Because of the tonal volume they produced the arch-top guitar was viewed as the instrument of choice among professional jazz and pop guitarists in 1930. Against this backdrop and with the desire to build market share C.F. Martin entered the arch-top market where they had no prior experience. First experimenting with round sound-holes by 1932 they had settled on the traditional "f"-hole design we associate with the arch-top guitar. The Style F-7 was first produced in 1935. With a carved spruce top and rosewood back and sides. At the time it was the largest body guitar made by Martin, measuring 20 inches in length and 16 inches wide. That first year of manufacture saw ninety one F-7s made, yet the following year only thirty six were constructed. That small number was repeated in 1937 and by 1942 the guitar would no longer be in production.

The guitars were a failure in reaching into arch-top guitar market and these F model guitars would languish away for 30 years until being rediscovered in the mid-1960s. The exquisitely carved necks with ebony fingerboards married to the large body Brazilian back and sides, proved successful when re-topped with a solid spruce flat top by skilled luthiers like Marc Silber. Stephen Stills, Eric Clapton and guitar virtuoso David Bromberg all owned these Martin F conversions. Realizing the success of these adaptations, the C.F. Martin company resurrected the body outline in the late 1970s with the "M" series which became successful among both flat-pick and finger picking performers.

More from The Nile Rodgers Collection To Benefit the We Are Family Foundation

View All