1870s Martin 2-20 Parlor Guitar

You know -- beauts like this happening-in the shop are what continue to keep me happy in the guitar fix-it world. I crave oddities! This one is probably an 1870s Martin of the 2-20 variety per its design elements. Robert Corwin's site is very helpful in disassembling the different features that make-up these guitars and placing them in the timeline. The owner was told it was late 1800s but the fact that it has fan bracing (plus a tonebar crossing the fan) under the hood suggests to me it's earlier than that.

Does anyone know when Martin gave up on fan braces during that era? I've now handled a mix of Martins from the 1800s but they've all been quite non-standard and quirky.

Anyhow, this had been strung with (very light) steel per the suggestion of the shop he bought it from, but he was happy to let it be strung classical-style again after some light repairs so as to get the tension back to safety levels. I did let him know about that wonderful Thomastik KR116 set of strings which gets you classical tension and steely tone, though, so hopefully when he gets tired of the current set of classical nylon strings that are on it he can move-over to those.

My work was mostly basic stuff but now that it's dialed-in it's such a joy to play. The neck is comfortable and fairly modern in profile and the sound is gorgeous. It's like a "pocket classical" with an outsized tone. The old Adi spruce for the top and the Brazilian rosewood for the back and sides can't hurt, though, too!

Repairs included: cleating cracks in the top (including "strapping" a longer cleat to the center fan brace to level the top off in that section), fitting a new saddle, replacing some replacement pins with some period pins from my parts-bins, a fret level/dress, and setup.

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid Brazilian rosewood

Bracing type: fan w/one tonebar (see last pic for an internal)

Bridge: ebony

Fretboard: ebony

Neck wood: Spanish cedar

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” overall
String gauges: D'Addario light tension Pro-Arte classicals

Neck shape: mild-medium soft V

Board radius: 16"

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-low bar frets

Scale length: 24 1/2"

Nut width: 1 3/4"

Body width: 12"

Body depth: 4"

Weight: 2 lbs 8 oz

Condition notes: it's quite clean save for some hairline cracks on the top and one on the back. There's a bit of pickwear at the soundhole and general mild usewear throughout the finish. Some of the pins are non-original but of the same style. The saddle is a replacement. It appears completely original otherwise.