1916 Martin 2M Ukulele (Special Model)

Vintage Martin 2M Ukulele. Extremely rare early model 1916 era Martin 2M Soprano Ukulele. This is one of the earliest known ukuleles to have ever been handcrafted by C.F. Martin & Co and a tremendously rare museum-quality collectible ukulele. In fact, I only know of one other that exists with remotely similar appointments and that particular piece is a style 1M which belongs to a museum, making this rare style 2 an even more desirable piece.

The 1916 model vintage Martin 2M ukulele is truly a wonderful historical piece and benchmarked an era of research & development (R&D) for the Martin company with regard to its ukulele production. These instruments came at a time when interest in Hawaii was on the rise and only a few hundred Martin ukuleles were initially handcrafted, tested, and sold. This was long before the mass production of Martin ukuleles came about post 1920s and 1930s.

The 1916 Martin 2M ukulele can be characterized by its short crown on the headstock, slightly wider neck, oversized fretboard, primitive bridge design and rounded keel-block. Another fascinating feature of these early pieces can be seen in their lack of position markers on the fretboard and by the snow-white top and back binding and not off-white colored binding like all later models.  Also, take notice of the sideways or vertical ‘C.F. Martin & Co’ stamp inside of the soundhole. It is slightly off-centered and although a relatively consistent characteristic with regard to Martin guitars produced during that era this was not (and still is not) a common feature to have on a Martin soprano ukulele. Aside from these very early models, the “C.F. Martin & Co” stamp inside of the soundhole is always parallel with the cross-bar back bracing.

The overall weight of the instrument is also significantly lighter than the post 1920s models that have passed through and I suspect that this is due in part to the overall thickness of the wood on these early pieces. This could be a contributing factor to the incredible projection, clarity, and sustain these early pieces have that indefinitely separate them from the later production models. Absolutely amazing!

These certainly make for some interesting and historical characteristics as the instrument was being refined in Nazareth, PA. So-much-so that you can still see the course sanding marks as the luthiers of yesteryear handcrafted this historical ukulele.

Price: SOLD

マーチンウクレレ　（非常にレア２Mモデル）

と ても貴重なマーチン初期のウクレレです。サウンドホールの中のマーチンのスタンプが横向きに張られています。ヘッドストック、幅の広いネック，裏の丸みの あるヒールは当時のままです。フレットボードにはポジションマーカーがついておらず、バインディングはのちのモデルに使われているオフホワイトではなく、 真っ白のものを使用しています。ペッグはオリジナルの木製のものからマシーンチューナーに変わっています。

私自身、このモデル（Style1M)を美術館で見た事があるだけです。 大変貴重なコレクターウクレレです。もっと詳細を知りたい方はメールをください。