[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 23, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H2631-H2632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         MARTIN GUITAR COMPANY CELEBRATES ITS 175TH ANNIVERSARY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, while the music of Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow and 
Jimmy Buffett represent dramatically different styles, these three 
famous musicians and countless others throughout the world share one 
unique characteristic, they all play a Martin guitar.
  Founded in 1833, Martin Guitar Company is celebrating its 175th 
anniversary in 2008. Headquartered in beautiful Nazareth, Pennsylvania, 
I'm very proud to have this remarkable business located in my district.
  The fascinating origins of Martin Guitar date back to the late 18th 
century, when the company's founder and namesake, Christian Frederick 
Martin, Sr., was born in Germany. The son of a prominent local cabinet 
maker, Martin traveled to Vienna, Austria at the age of 15 to 
apprentice with Johann Stauffer, a renowned guitar maker.
  After honing his craft in Austria, Martin returned to his native 
Germany to open his first shop, but became entangled in a bitter 
dispute between the local Cabinet Makers Guild and Violin Makers Guild. 
This clash ultimately drove Martin to emigrate to the United States in 
1833, where he opened a shop in New York City's lower West Side.
  Six years after arriving in New York City, Martin moved his family 
and business to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where the shop flourished and 
evolved from a one-man operation into a company that employed over a 
dozen skilled craftsmen. In 1859, a plant was constructed on Maine and 
North Streets in the heart of Nazareth. Having undergone numerous 
expansions and modifications over time, this facility is still used by 
the company for shipping and storage. It also houses a retail supply 
store for instrument crafting and repair.
  In its 175-year existence, Martin Guitar Company has used innovation 
and foresight to survive many tumultuous periods of American history. 
The company actually flourished during the Civil War due, in part, to 
the simple fact that many guitars were destroyed during fighting and 
needed to be replaced.
  Later, in the 1890s, business boomed when Martin began producing 
mandolins that were widely popular among the growing number of Italian 
immigrants arriving in the United States from Europe. The company 
struck gold in the 1920s when the American public suddenly became 
captivated by the tiny ukulele. Spurred by the overwhelming sales of 
ukuleles, which at the time were being produced at nearly double the 
rate of traditional guitars, Martin was forced to expand the capacity 
of its Nazareth plant and substantially increase its workforce.
  The advent of the Great Depression in 1929 imposed incredible 
hardships on American households. While every industry in the Nation 
was impacted by the economic downturn, Martin found it exceptionally 
difficult to sell guitars and musical supplies to a public desperately 
trying to make ends meet.
  During the Depression, the company reluctantly abandoned aspirations 
for increasing sales and focused exclusively on economic survival. To 
avoid scaling back the already reeling workforce, Martin diversified 
its production and began manufacturing violin components and even 
wooden jewelry. Desperate for a concept to reinvigorate sales, the 
company explored numerous product modifications which ultimately led to 
two important developments, the creation of the now famous 
``Dreadnought'' guitar, and the invention of the 14-Fret Guitar Neck, 
which today is an industry standard.
  From 1948 to 1970, the company experienced unprecedented growth due 
to post-war prosperity and the rise in popularity of American folk 
music. In 1955, a new, larger plant was built in Nazareth to help meet 
increasing demand,

[[Page H2632]]

but by the early 1960s Martin guitars were back-ordered as much as 3 
years.
  In 1990, the company formalized its long-standing ecological policy 
which embraced the responsible use of natural materials and promoted 
the use of sustainable yield, alternative wood varieties.
  Adopting such a progressive policy nearly 20 years ago has helped 
broaden the use of sustainable materials within the guitar industry 
over the last two decades and illustrates Martin's admirable dedication 
to responsible production. Martin's amazing longevity in a constantly 
changing industry is a true testament to the strength of the company's 
management and its commitment to crafting guitars of the highest 
quality.
  Mr. Speaker, the Martin Guitar Company has been a source of 
tremendous pride in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania for generations. 
Today, I rise to congratulate the Martin family and their many 
employees on 175 years of achievement. I wish them many, many more 
years of incredible success. We are extraordinarily proud of them.

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