48863 1931 Martin C1 archtop: Some of the coolest guitars I've had in the nearly 30 years I've been in the trade have been like this one...whooped cosmetically, repaired repeatedly and often with no regard for cosmetic presentation, but still look cool and more importantly, play and sound great. I'll start with the visible repairs...at some time in the past both sides were badly cracked along their entire length, and the bass side broken badly along the lower bout requiring a large patch (see pics). The repairs that were done are stable enough but there was some sanding done to the sides where the crack alignment probably wasn't right, leading to some thin spots here and there and there is finish sanded through in these spots. And the bass bout patch, while solid and structurally secure, was never finished over. So while the side repairs are cosmetically not great, they are solid and structurally fine. The back has two repaired cracks, probably done by someone other than the guy who did the sides as they are much better repairs. There is one repaired top crack to the upper bass bout, tight, level and stable but very noticeable. There is also a crack at the edge of the bass side of the fret board that extends to the soundhole, but there is no displacement of the top and the crack was likely glued long ago. Finally, the headstock suffered a clean break and repair, looks like it was many years ago. The guitar is on consignment and the current owner has had it for many years, the repair was there when he acquired the guitar and has not moved so it is solid and while visible, not a structural concern. So if you are still reading, good for you...you get to hear the good stuff. The finish on the body and neck are original, with the only finish issues being on the sides as noted. The tailpiece is the original Grover nickel plated component with the "Martin" name emblazoned on the bail. The Ebony bridge is old, may/may not be original, I can't say with any certainty one way or the other. The neck angle is perfect and the playability is excellent, the action is low with adjustability left in the bridge to lower or raise the action if desired. The original bar frets are in great shape (just dressed in the shop). The tuners are modern Martin replacements, the pickguard is also likely a modern replacement. The neck has a nice 30s "V" shape to it combined with a 1 3/4" nut width and 25.4" scale. These early round hole Martin archtops produce a unique sound that is somewhere between an archtop and a flat top, borrowing from the best of both. I will have a sound file of this guitar being played available soon on request. Comes with a Travelite case. Ships to US addresses only, no international shipping. $2150 + Shipping, NYS buyers add 8% sales tax. VFS #16171