This is a list of the 91 original (pre-war) Martin D-45s made by C. F. Martin & Company in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, between 1933 and 1942. The Martin D-45 is generally recognized to be the most desired, and highly valued, acoustic guitars ever made. In American Guitars: An Illustrated History, author Tom Wheeler describes them as "among American guitar's irreplaceable treasures".Wheeler, Tom. American Guitars - An Illustrated History. Harper & Row, 1982 It is not known exactly how many still survive, however as information is available in print form or via web information, sale inventories, and so on, it can be collated here.
Serial numbers and years, with notes as available The listing of serial numbers presented below is from Mike Longworth's book "Martin Guitars - A History",Longworth, Mike. 1975. . Omnibus Press, Revised edition 2008. Hal Leonard; while associated information is from other sources as available, one particularly valuable source being the Martin D-45 Master List by Robert (Bob) Hamilton and Bruce Herrmann. Instruments marked "[E]" are those known to exist according to either information contained herein or a separate version of the Martin D-45 Master List.