c. 1842 Martin Birds Eye Terz Guitar


This guitar was likely built at close to the same time as the Goncalo Alves "Tigerwood" Martin and Coupa above but with three differences. 

It is a smaller "Terz" guitar, tuned a minor third above standard pitch.

It was built with a bird's eye maple veneer over mahogany rather than Goncoa Alves. 

It has a single "C. F. Martin New York" stamp on the back in place of the Martin & Coupa label.

The Terz is a small guitar, still made by Martin today, and made popular in the 1950's and 60's by Marty Robbins.
























The dimensions are:


22 1/8" scale

18 1/4" body length

11 3/8" body width

32" total length

3 3/8" depth at upper bout

3 3/4" depth at lower bout

1 3/4" nut width

2 5/16" string spacing

4 29/32" wide bridge

6" x 1 7/8" x 3" headstock

3 1/4" soundhole

Ebony pegs

Ice Cream Cone heel

Black binding

Broad foot under wide rounded neck block

Three rounded back braces at 4", 3 3/4", 3 3/4"

Three strut fan braces

Bridge plate

While this guitar was build at approximately the same time as the Martin & Coupa, the Martin & Coupa label was used only on guitars distributed from New York by John Coupa while Martin was also selling a smaller number of guitars directly from the workshop at their new home in Cherry Hill, Pennsylvania.



Illustrated in "Inventing the American Guitar: The Pre–Civil War Innovations of C. F. Martin and His Contemporaries"


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