1928 MARTIN 0-42

Martin has become synonymous with dreadnoughts and OM models, and there were rich pickings in the small-bodied pre-war era, too

- Huw Price

With Martin model designations, the digit before the hyphen corresponds to body size and the bigger the number the smaller the body. So, when the 0 (usually pronounced 'oh' despite it being an 'aught') was first introduced in 1898, it would have been considered a sizeable guitar. It was second only to Martin's 00 model, which was introduced the same year and remained Martin's biggest model until the arrival of the 000 in 1902.

Officially, the 0 models measure 13 1/2 inches across the lower bout, but they sometimes came out a tad wider. The tail depth is 4 1/4 inches and the scale length is 24 3/4 inches. As is typical with Martin's V-profile necks of the pre-war era, the fretboard is fairly wide and measures 17/8 inches across the nut.

Style 42

As a rule of thumb with Martins, the higher the number after the hyphen, the fancier the guitar. For Martin guitars at the turn of the last century, 'fancy' meant more expensive timbers and a higher level of ornamentation. It has been suggested that the model designation also corresponded with price, so a 42 model would have set you back $42 in the mid-1800s. Clearly, this would never have been sustainable in the long term, and prices increased in line with body sizes while the numbering system was retained.

Style 42 represented a step up from the similarly appointed Style 40. The zipper pattern back strip, abalone soundhole ring and abalone inlay around the soundboard edges were retained, but Martin added an abalone border around the fretboard extension and markers were inlaid into the fretboard. The number varied depending on the body size and the production year, but this is where Martin's 'snowflake' inlays first started to be seen.