#128708
this 1953 Martin D18 #128708, like the one used by Elvis from January to May of 1956 as an alternate to his leather clad D28, see http://scottymoore.net/2ndD18.html
It has a similar tortoise pattern on the pickguard as seen on models from that period with the bright spots that in many of the photos with Elvis appear "white." I am the second owner (third really) and I bought this guitar well played several years ago from the daughter of a man that bought it new and played it for years. After he died she kept it under the bed for years as a keep sake and then finally decided to sell it. It had been very well played over the years so I sent it back to C. F. Martin & Co. in Nazareth, PA to go through it.
They reset the neck, repaired three cracks in the upper side of the mahogany body, re glued three back braces, shimmed the Ivory nut and replaced the well worn saddle with a fossilized Ivory one.
There are various scuffs and scratches in the finish as would be expected in a 63 year old played guitar, and some of the celluloid binding is faded in places but overall its in great shape and is a solid player. The guitar came with a beat-up chip board case which I replaced with a Martin "340" lined hard case. Please note, though depicted on Scotty's website this guitar was not owned or played by him, or Elvis. This is a beautiful sounding well played guitar that should be played more instead of sitting in the case. Like the J200, this guitar in recent years only came out of the case occasionally to recharge the humidifier.
I've been informed on good authority that '50s era D-18s have escalated nicely in price over the past few years because they typically have a stellar sound.