For well over a century and a half, The Martin Guitar Company has been continuously producing acoustic guitars that are acknowledged to be the finest for playing music in the world. The Company has, through the years, managed to survive with each succeeding generation from C. F. Martin, Sr.'s Stauffer influenced creations of the 1830s to recent developments introduced by C. F. Martin IV. Continuous operation under family management is a feat bordering on the remarkable, reflecting six generations of dedication to the guitar maker's craft. In or out of the music industry, C. F. Martin has few rivals for sheer staying power.

Shortly before the turn of 1800, an American success story began in Germany. In a small town, a child was born into the Martin family of wood workers. The family had traditionally made furniture and cabinets. Young Christian joined the trade, but discovered a passion for creating musical instruments. While still a fresh faced teen, the young man would move to the city and start training with Johann Stauffer, one of the best known guitar manufacturers of the era.

Accepted business practices in the early days of making a Martin guitar were far removed from today's methods and reflected a simpler society. Barter was common in the retail trade. C. F. Martin's personal records contain numerous entries of trading musical merchandise for everything from a case of wine to children's clothing. New York City's teeming Lower East Side was a harsh environment that was a world apart from the pastoral Saxony where Martin and his family grew up.

The following years were a period of significant development for C. F. Martin guitar makers. In addition to products sold by Ludecus & Wolter in New York, company records indicate that numerous shipments were made to the then centers of trade, which were primarily shipping posts and those cities served by the canal system, since the railroad had yet to evolve.

The lengthy history behind Martin's guitars is a fascinating one. Martin's shipping records date back to the mid-nineteenth century, where it looks like business was booming. They provide records of the many sales transactions involving shipment of guitars to clients in Boston, Albany, Philadelphia, Petersburg, Nashville, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and New Orleans. Due to high customer demand, the company even published an ad in 1850 stating that "C.F. Martin Guitar Maker" was going to enlarge its factory.

Martin's steadfast adherence to high standards of musical excellence, mixed with experienced management, has largely accounted for the company's remarkable longevity. Marketing methods and product mix have changed at Martin Guitar over the years, but the company attitude towards guitar building has never varied. Frank Henry Martin explained to potential customers, "A good guitar cannot be built for the price of a poor one, but who regrets the extra cost for a good guitar?" Almost eighty years have passed since Frank Henry Martin authored this statement of policy, but it still is an accurate expression of Martin's ongoing commitment to quality.