Martin Employee Instruments
Are the seven recorded production instruments really the only
Style Ds to come from the Martin factory? There are some Martin instruments that were not
part of the company=s regular production runs
and that bear neither a serial number nor a Martin logo. These are the so-called Employee
Instruments. For much of the 20th century, Martin employees were allowed to
build themselves personal custom instruments, choosing whatever style they preferred,
using the decorative trim of their choice, and enlisting the help of their fellow
employees. The work was supposed to be done off hours and the practice was discontinued
when management concluded that workers were using company time to build their personal
instruments. Prior to then, however, employees had the opportunity to use the company's
best skills and finest materials for a personal instrument. The individual carftsperson
could incorporate any features desired. Because these were not part of the standard
production run, however, they were not given serial numbers and, because they were not
intended for sale, they were not allowed to bear C. F. Martin identification.
Vintage instrument expert George Gruhn wrote about Martin Employee guitars for Pickin= magazine:
All the component parts were regular Martin parts, and ornamentation, while varying in many cases from standard patterns, was also typically Martin. Quite commonly, the ornamental features of several standard models will be combined in one of these guitars. Although these guitars are not labeled, have no serial numbers, and are not covered by the Martin warranty, I consider them genuine Martins, since they are made in the factory to Martin structural specifications, and generally meet Martin=s highest standards of quality. However, unless the complete prior history of such a guitar is known, verification of its authenticity should be determined by an expert who is thoroughly familiar with the features of Martin guitar construction.
Undoubtedly, the vast majority of Employee Instruments have been guitars. Although mandolins and ukuleles have each enjoyed periods of prominence, Martin=s guitars have always been their premier product. These have always commanded premium prices. It is not surprising, therefore, that given an opportunity to build a personal instrument, most employees would choose the most respected and versatile Martin instrument, a guitar. Although numbers are not available, Employee Instrument mandolins are undoubtedly rarer than guitars.
Above, Martin workers from the early 1910s, the decade in
which this mandolin was made.
Although this photo was probably taken before WIllis Werkheiser's time at Martin,
some of these men (e.g., F. H. Martin at center and C. F. Martin III at far right)
undoubtedly worked with him.
One such mandolin has come to light, a mandolin in the manner of the Style D. It was built by Martin employee Willis D. Werkheiser, whose signature and the date, December 23, 1919, appear on the underside of the top, near the bridge. Mr. Werkheiser worked for Martin throughout much of the early part of the 20th century, leaving during World War II to work in a war-related industry. (Werkheisers work for Martin to this day. There is even a Werkheiser Ave, in Nazareth, PA. And the much-photographed 500,000th Martin guitar, signed by all the company's 300-plus current employees when completed in 1990, bears the names of nine Werkheisers: Carrie, Frank, Gene, Laura E., Lori, Paul, Sharon, and Shirlye.)
Willis Werkheiser's signature as it appears inside the
instrument. The photo was taken by inserting a mirror through the soundhole,
photographing the reflected signature, and electronically reversingthe image.
This modern-day Martin employee is named Frank Werkheiser (see above) , possibly a descendant of Willis
The instrument remained in his family for many years and eventually came into the possession of another Martin employee, who has provided these details of Mr. Werkheiser=s and the instrument=s history. He acquired it because he recognized its exceptional beauty and rarity, but never found time to learn to play mandolin (although an accomplished guitarist). In his own words, A...I rarely get time to pick anymore, let alone teach myself the mandolin.... This mandolin is just too nice to sit in the case and not be played.@ Thus, not only is the instrument itself noteworthy, but its provenance and ownership history are unusually well documented.
The instrument is superb. The mandolin obviously has received excellent care over the past 80 years and its present condition is extraordinary. The former owner describes it as follows: AThis mandolin is in mint original condition. There is no evidence of repair and, as a [Martin] customer repair employee, I say that with significant knowledge. Even the finish on the mandolin is the original French polished lacquer in satin. This was originally applied with steel wool to instruments of this age.@ The age of the mandolin looks more like 80 days than 80 years.
The instrument has many unusual features. The pickguard, for example, is genuine tortoise shell, inlaid with iridescent white pearl. Of course, manufacturers can no longer use the former because the hawkbill tortoise from which it came is now an endangered species. (Actually, the nut of this and most other better Martin mandolins of the era, and other appointments on contemporary instruments, were made from elephant ivory C also a commodity no longer available. Martin records, cited by Washburn and Johnston, indicate that in 1901, a 57-pound Zanzibar ivory tusk cost the company $156.75.) The pickguard=s Abatwing@ shape is identical to those used on the top-of-the-line Style 6 and Style 7, 42-rib bowlback Martin mandolins that had recently gone out of production. This shape was not offered on the flatbacks. (The Style C pictured earlier has a hybrid style of pickguard whose left side resembles half of a batwing with no inlay.) Existing bowlbacks with batwing pickguards (which were imported from Europe already inlayed) reveal that several different inlay patterns were used. This instrument has a lyre-and-scroll pattern which is very attractive.
It also features a double ring of abalone around the soundhole. The two narrow bands (with a thin, dark stripe between them) are oriented with their angular grain patterns in opposite directions, suggesting a herringbone effect. A double ring is extremely rare. How rare? The former owner and long-time Martin employee reports an incident involving the current head of C. F. Martin & Co.: ALast year, at one of our quarterly meetings with C.F. Martin IV, he made reference to a Martin mandolin that was ordered with a double row of abalone pearl around the soundhole and that, to his knowledge, was to be the first one made to these specs. Even he is unaware of this one. Of course, he wasn't around in 1919 to see it.@ So, this is perhaps only one of two existing Martin mandolins with that decorative feature. It is almost certainly the only one with the particular combination of features it possesses.
A double-ring abalone soundhole rosette and inlayed
tortoise shell pickguard
are two distinctive features of this mandolin.
The double abalone ring has an interesting parallel in one of the guitars described by Gruhn. He notes that on one instrument, a guitar similar to a style 45, AThe standard 45 trim is used on the back, sides , and neck, but the abalone purfling around the edge of the top is composed of two narrow strips of abalone with dark wood veneer separating them. These two strips together are approximately equal in width to the normal one-piece abalone purfling used on style 45 guitars.@ This description precisely describes the abalone soundhole trim on the Werkheiser mandolin. Another interesting parallel between the guitar Gruhn describes and this mandolin: A... on many employee model guitars the underside of the top is initialed and dated by the person who made the top .... On the underside of the top we find the initials J. A. P. in pencil along with the date 11/13/1918.@ Thus, this mandolin and Gruhn=s Style 45 guitar were built about a year apart. He goes on to say that, Aalthough they may be made with non-standard woods and ornamentation patterns, they are still quite clearly identifiable structurally as Martins. Since the employees did make them for their own use, the quality of their construction is usually very good and their ornamentation is often better than average. These guitars are definitely worthy of attention by musicians and collectors.@
What Model Is It?
Many Employee Instruments, including this one, are unique
and do not conform exactly to any
production style (although each production style varied from specimen to specimen,
particularly if special ordered). It is possible, however, to think of them as custom versions of production models and to identify
the style they most closely resemble.
Thus, Gruhn describes the two guitars mentioned in his article as a 00-45 and a 0-42,
noting the specific departures from the standard models of those designations. Applying
the same reasoning, this mandolin appears to be a Style D. Interestingly, it has a 9"
rather than 92" body, despite that size
having been discontinued more than two years before the date appearing inside this
instrument. It was the only size, however, in which Style Ds were made. All flat-back
styles were being made in the larger size by late 1917. In fact, four changes occurred in
the Martin flat-back mandolin line at about the same time in 1917: the Style A switched
from rosewood to mahogany, the body widths for all styles grew to 92", abalone replaced wood purfling on the Style
C, and the Style D was discontinued. These changes are important in determining
model identification because they suggest that the introduction of abalone trim on the
Style C would have coincided with the change to the larger body size. If this is so,
as Martin records seem to indicate, no Style C would have both the abalone and the smaller
body. Accordingly, it seems this Employee Instrument could not to be a Style C.
The absence of ivory (except for the nut), lack of headstock inlay, and
abalone-free back rule out its being a Style E. Clearly, then, the catalog model
this mandolin most closely resembles is the exceptionally rare Style D. Its combination of
9" body, abalone trim, extensive neck inlay, and unadorned peghead are definitive of
the Style D and distinguish it from either the Styles C or E. But what about the
date? Style D's, not to mention 9" body widths, shouldn't have existed in 1919.