C.F. MARTIN AND COMPANY

As early as 1917 The C.F. Martin Company was producing "extra-large" bodied guitars for the Boston publishing house of Oliver Ditson which were sold bearing the Ditson name. They came in three styles the 111, 222, and 333. Christened the Dreadnought it got its name from the class of large battleships deployed by the British Navy at the beginning of the 20th Century. These first Dreadnought guitars, constructed by Martin, were made with mahogany back and sides similar to today's Style 18s and fitted with a 12-fret neck. After Ditson's demise in 1931, Martin began producing D-series guitars under their own name, in response to musicians' demands for louder instruments. It is believed that two experimental D-1s of mahogany and seven D-2's of rosewood were made that year before committing to the formal model designation of the D-18 and D-28 we know today.

C.F. Martin and Company records show that on September 17, 1931 Shop Order number 1100 was processed and work began on two guitars - serial number 48324, a D-18, and serial number 48325, a D-28. This instrument (Lot 10) would be the first Martin guitar manufactured officially as a D-28 and the only one made in 1931. Four would be produced in 1932, twelve in 1933 and twenty-four in 1934 before the market would favor the 14 fret models.

The Dreadnought became an almost instant success among performing guitarists despite some reservations by Frederick and Frank Henry Martin. During the height of the Depression it would outsell all other models made by The Martin Company except the budget priced O-17.
The fact that a majority of guitar makers employ a Dreadnought model to this day is a testament to its success as an outline in acoustic guitar design.