Christian Frederick Martin (1796-1867)
Nazareth, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Founder in 1833 of C.F. Martin & Co. (The Martin Guitar Company), one of the world's oldest musical instrument manufacturers. Its innovations in acoustic guitar design-- including the x-braced flat-top guitar and Dreadnought guitar-- were to exert a formative influence on the industry. German -born C.F. Martin moved the firm from New York City to this area in 1838. He built a small shop here in 1859. It expanded many times and was long the company's factory.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
German-born Christian Frederick Martin founded his guitar-making firm in 1833 and, in 1838, moved it from New York City to the Moravian community around Nazareth, building a small shop here in 1859. Martin's workshop pioneered designs — the X-braced flat-top and later the powerful Dreadnought — that would define the sound of the American acoustic guitar. Today C. F. Martin & Co. ranks among the oldest surviving musical instrument makers in the world.
Why it matters
Martin's innovations gave the acoustic guitar its modern form, shaping American folk, country, and popular music for well over a century.
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Related people
- · Christian Frederick Martin
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