NMM 3604.  Mandolin by C. F. Martin & Co., Nazareth, Pennsylvania, 1902. Style 4.   Serial number 1046.  Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979. Mandolins were the most ornately decorated instruments produced by Martin. The mid-grade Style 4 from 1902 exhibits more extensive decoration than even the company’s top-of-the-line guitars or the NMM’s 1917 Style 6A mandolin (NMM 3852). When the market demanded it, Martin could supply sumptuous, beautifully executed decoration, but generally the company preferred a simpler, cleaner aesthetic. NMM 3604 is currently is currently on loan for the NMM-designed exhibition, "Ya Gotta Know the Territory:  The Musical Journey of Meredith Willson," at the Meredith Willson Museum, Mason City, Iowa. Inscriptions:  Branded on neck block: [lettering curved downward at each end] C.F.MARTIN & Co / — ∙ — / NAZARETH, PA. / 1046 Stamped on tailpiece: PAT. MAY 15∙94 Body:  Soundboard: two-piece spruce. Bowl: 30 rosewood staves. Head: mahogany veneered with rosewood on front face; simplified broken pediment shape with two inward-facing scrolls. Neck: mahogany; integral with head. Inlay:  Binding: ivory; abalone, black hardwood, and ivory purfling. Rosette: elliptical with abalone, black hardwood, and ivory purfling. Trim:  Fingerboard: ebony bound in ivory; 20 nickel-silver frets; decorative mother-of-pearl abstract floral inlay behind 5th and 7th frets; mother-of-pearl Maltese cross between two lozenges behind 10th fret; single abalone lozenges behind 12th and 15th frets (one behind 12th fret slightly larger); imitation tortoise-shell plastic side dots behind 5th, 7th, 10th, and 12th frets Nut: ivory. Bridge: ebony; ebony lozenges on ends; ivory or bone saddle. Pegs: two sets of nickel-plated steel worm-gear machine tuners with mother-of-pearl heads. Pick guard: tortoise shell with festooned lower edge; mother-of-pearl and abalone floral and foliate inlay. Tailpiece: nickel silver with engraved, festooned cover. Varnish: slightly yellow. Measurements:  Total mandolin length:  610 mm (24″) Maximum body width:  203 mm (8″) Maximum bowl height:  140 mm (5-1/2″) Neck length (nut to ribs):  145 mm (5-11/16″) Neck width, nut:  30 mm (1-3/16″) Neck width, heel:  40 mm (1-9/16″) Vibrating string length (nut to bridge edge):  336 mm (13-7/32″) Literature:  Joseph R. Johnson, Mandolin Clubs and Orchestras in the United States (1880-1920): Their Origin, History and Instruments, M.M. Thesis (Vermillion: University of South Dakota, 1987), p. 158. Return to Martin Guitar and Mandolin Checklist National Music Museum The University of South Dakota 414 East Clark Street Vermillion, SD 57069 ©National Music Museum, 2004-2005 Most recent update: October 23, 2007 This page was visited 688 times between November 24, 2004-October 6, 2005 You are the 2,790th visitor to this page since October 6, 2005 The University of South Dakota Return to Top of Page