Christian Frederick Martin Sr. (; January 31, 1796 – February 16, 1873) was a
German-born American luthier
A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments.
Etymology
The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...
who specialized in
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
s and the founder of
C. F. Martin & Company. He made his first guitars in the United States in the 1830s.
Early life and career
Born in
Markneukirchen
Markneukirchen () is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany, close to the Czech Republic, Czech border. It lies in the Elster Mountains (part of the Fichtel Mountains), southeast of Plauen, and northeast of Aš (Czech Republic) ...
in the
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...
to a family of cabinet makers, Martin became an apprentice of the guitar maker
Johann Georg Stauffer of
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
,
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. Martin also became a foreman at Stauffer's workshop. Martin was the second of five children and was more commonly known as Friedrich, given the German custom of using the second given name. In Martin's case, four of the children's first given names are a derivation of Christian (Christiane, Christian, Christian and Christiana).
As a result of a dispute between the Cabinet Makers Guild, of which Martin was a member, and the Violin Makers Guild, Martin moved to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in 1833. The move occurred less than a year after his father Johann Georg Martin died, and, being the last alive of Johann Georg Martin's progeny, he would have been free of familial obligations to emigrate. On arriving in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, he set up shop at 196 Hudson Street on the
Lower West Side. Martin's first workshop housed a small production setup in the back room, and a retail music store up front. This shop was the forerunner of
C. F. Martin & Company, which is still family-owned and operated, whose CEO, , is CF Martin's great-great-great-grandson, CF Martin IV.
At the insistence of his wife, Ottilia Kühle (daughter of the ''Maschinentischler''
achine carpenterand maker of pedal harps Karl Kühle in Vienna), Martin moved the guitar shop in 1838 to
Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Nazareth is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 6,053 at the 2020 census. Nazareth is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 a ...
where it is still located.
Martin's guitar construction and design innovations produced a model of flattop guitar that is still in use today.
See also
*
C. F. Martin & Company
*
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
References
External links
BBC: ''How Martin guitars became an 'American Stradivarius'', 21 November 2013*
Michael Lorenz:
"Stauffer Miscellanea" Vienna 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Christian Frederick
1796 births
1873 deaths
People from Markneukirchen
People from the Electorate of Saxony
Emigrants from the German Confederation to the United States
Guitar makers
German musical instrument makers
American musical instrument makers
People from Nazareth, Pennsylvania