C. F. Martin & Co. Launches the Bentley Snowflake First Edition Custom Guitar

The elegant, limited-edition model was inspired by the photography of Wilson A. Bentley.

Lehigh Valley, Pa
Monday, November 1, 2021

C. F. Martin & Co. announced today the release of the first edition run of a Custom Shop instrument featuring alternative snowflake designs inspired by Wilson A. Bentley, the “Ansel Adams” of snowflakes.

Wilson A. Bentley is acknowledged as the first person to successfully photograph a single snow crystal in 1885 with a technique known as photomicrography. His singular book was published in 1931, with work subsequently published in Scientific American and National Geographic. Bentley was the first man to state that “no two snowflakes are alike.”

The Jericho Historical Society – custodian of an important image and document archive – has granted Martin exclusive rights to use Bentley’s snowflake images for the creation of unique inlay packages. While the “snowflake inlay pattern” has been used at Martin Guitar for generations, the silhouette has been largely unchanged until now.

This agreement with the Jericho Historical Society allowed the Martin Custom Shop to specially select images from the Bentley Archives as inspiration to create new snowflake inlay patterns on the headplate, fingerboard, heel, pickguard, and bridge of the 2022 edition of this model. The 2022 snowflake inlay design package will be utilized only for this limited run of instruments, after which it will be retired. The agreement also allows for a fresh inlay design package to be developed periodically, in limited quantities, and then similarly retired. This is a dream instrument for the avid Martin collector.

“Just as C. F. Martin occupies a special place in the history of a growing America, so, too, does the pioneering technique and passion of Wilson Bentley,” said Scott Sasser, Director of Custom Shop Administration. “We alone have the opportunity to offer a unique story behind a very exclusive limited-edition instrument.”

The Bentley Snowflake First Edition is crafted with stunning Madagascar rosewood for the back and sides paired with a Sitka spruce top. The combination produces a warm and articulate tone, so you can be sure this guitar will sound as amazing as it looks. Each guitar purchased comes with a crystal glass snowflake presentation piece that will be shipped to the owner upon registering the guitar for warranty.