C. F. Martin D-18 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1955), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 145383, natural lacquer finish, mahogany back, sides and neck, spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This is a really beautiful great-sounding and playing 1955 D-18, in far better condition than most of this vintage. This guitar has a fabulous big voice but simply does not appear too heavily used, remaining in very fine original condition. When this one was built in mid/late 1955 Martin Dreadnoughts were the most sought-after flattops on the market, considered the world standard. From its introduction in the early 1930s on, the D-18 has been a workhorse for country, gospel, folk, and most other forms of American vernacular music. All of 1103 D-18's were made in 1955, and many were gigged heavily for years. This one shows far fewer signs of use than most from this period.
This D-18 has typical appointments for 1955 including mahogany back, sides and neck, a spruce top, large varied-dot inlay on the Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, a rosewood long-saddle bridge and tortoise celluloid binding and pickguard. The individual Kluson Deluxe tuners have metal buttons. Martin Dreadnoughts of this era were the undisputed favorites with many professional Country & Western entertainers when new, and are still known as fantastic guitars for a wide range of styles, really just about anything works on a great D-18! This one fully lives up to the reputation of this model and is one of the nicest mid-50s examples we have had in a while.
Overall length is 40 3/8 in. (102.6 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This superbly preserved and beautifully original 67 year old D-18 shows only light wear overall and remains structurally excellent. The top shows some light finish checking throughout. There is some pickwear loss to the lower soundhole edge and a few odd marks, but it is quite clean overall. The back and sides have some small dings, dents and scrapes but overall far less wear than most. The back of the neck is also relatively clean, with some shallow dents most notably behind the 5th to 7th fret area.
Amazingly there are no cracks anywhere on the guitar, not even in the usual spot at the top edge of the pickguard. There was never even a strap button added. The neck has been neatly reset. The fingerboard and frets are clean showing a recent grind and polish on the original frets. The original bridge is full-height, and has a new saddle installed. The guitar plays and sounds lovely, a wonderful 1950s survivor with a perfect combination of power and sweetness. It resides in the original green-lined HSC. Overall Excellent Condition.
