⭕ I call this guitar model Rare and I dont use the term lightly. Very few were made and very few are known to be in existance. According to the UMGF thread..one member said about 50 were made. When I bought the guitar, the previous owner told me that Fred Oster of Vintage Instruments of Philly had one, Gruhn had one, and Phil Seeger had one.

The Specs:

Model: 0-17S
Martin O size guitar
Built: 1931
Spruce Top
Mahogany sides and back
Nickle Waverly Tuners with Ivory Buttons
12 frets to the body - Brazilian Rosewood Binding
Rectangular Bridge with Ivory Saddle

The following are excerpts from UMGF threads regarding this instrument:

Entry Date: 09-22-2007
Source: UMGF
Contributor: djp7204
Comments:
The S here refers to SPECIAL and the thinking is that one of Martins dealers requested a run of the economy 0-size with a spruce top and a larger pickguard. The tuners are upgraded to Nickel Waverlies as well.
There were 2 batches of these built in 1931. Fred Oster owns one of the few 0-17Ss that have survived and he tells me his came from the first batch that was run in June of 31 and encompassed serial #s 47290-47314. Mine is from a second batch that was run in early July.
The pickguard, though quite unique is actually very cool looking in person. These days, that big a piece of 30s acetate is probably worth as much as the whloe guitar!
If you have owned or played a 20s or 30s 0-18, you know how light they are. This one is lighter still since the board and bridge are Brazilian which is lighter weight than the Ebony used on the 18s.
This one has the Ebony nut, bar frets, Ivory dot inlays, Brazilian top bindings & no back bindings. Sound is quite impressive and it responds to the lightest touch.
When Steve Kovacik took a look at this little guy, he really liked the grain on the neck which is probably flamed Mahaogany, though he wondered if it just might a hunkoKoa!