Dec. 13, 2021 - MARTIN STYLE 45-S AND ST. LUCY’S DAY
The trio of 45s just in time for Christmas!
A smaller sized, 00-45 in particularly fine condition.
This is a set of 45s that we had when we first open the store. On the right is a 1937 000-45 and on the left a 1940 D-45.
The first D-45 that I bought was back in the year my daughter Rose was born 1989. It’s sold for about 1/10 of what one goes for today!
No discussions of 45 style guitars would be complete without mentioning this man, David Nichols, of Custom Pearl Inlay. Dave has been making guitars for 50 years and was the artist behind the reissue 1968-69 D-45s. Here he is in the North country with one of the most "blindingly" decorated guitars I’ve ever seen.
Saturday was a busy day and this guy stopped by. Robert Duffy former police chief, former mayor, former lieutenant governor and current head of the Chamber of Commerce. He’s finally decided to something really important with his life….take up guitar! He stopped by to get some accessories!
The great banjo player, Michelle Younger and her daughter paid a visit on Saturday also. Michelle worked for us for many years and she teaches banjo in town. Sorry I missed seeing her but Julie snapped this shot for me.
MARTIN STYLE 45-S AND ST. LUCY’S DAY
December 13th, 2021
Good morning folks,
Martin guitars with the "45" designation are the flagship style for this esteemed company. Starting in 1902, 120 years ago if you’re counting, Martin began their top-of-the-line model. What signified the "45” was lavish abalone trim around the top, around the sound hole, around the fingerboard, on both edges of the side and on the back. Obviously this was a labor-intensive and elaborate presentation style and has always been the most desirable acoustic guitar in history. We have been lucky enough to own several Style 45s over the years including two of the original 91 pre-WWII D-45s that are the most coveted guitars ever produced. This past Friday a customer walked in with three Martin style 45s. Two are impressive remakes of the old style and one is an original 1942 000-45. Nothing quite lights up a room! Abalone, snail shell and pearl shell have long been used to decorate musical instruments. It was only used for the best of the best guitars. It seems to light them up like a Christmas tree.
Speaking of lighting up the Christmas tree, today is also the feast day of Saint Lucy. She is the patron saint of the city of Siracusa, Sicily. Tradition holds that she was a 4th century martyr whose eyes were plucked out by the savage Romans. She’s often depicted in statues holding her eyes on a tray in her hand (of course, miraculously the eyes could still see!). As a result she has become the patron saint of the blind and of light. Her traditions are held not only in Sicily but also in Scandinavian countries as her feast day, December 13, brings the light back to the world. My Sicilian family often cooks wheat kernels on Saint Lucy‘s day. My mother always followed this tradition and served the wheat kernels to us with honey and milk. I asked her why wheat was so important for Saint Lucy and she said it was because the kernels looked like eyeballs! Today is also the birthday of my first grandchild, Elliot Miller, and like St. Lucy, he brings much light to our family. He attends college at SUNY New Paltz and will be coming home for Christmas. Can’t wait to get together.
Sincerely,
John Bernunzio
A St. Lucy celebration in Scandinavia. Today marks the return of the light as it is 12 days before Christmas. It was the winter solstice according to the the older calendar.