An extremely rare set of tuners with the name JEROME prominently stamped into the top ends of the plates. Jerome was a French company, and their tuning machines were considered among the very finest of their day. These have the typical Martin gear spacing of 2-5/8”. An even stronger indication that they were from a Martin guitar comes from the fact that both plates have a Roman numeral III scratched into their undersides, a system that Martin used in the 19th-century on many of the parts of individual instruments in order to keep them together through the production process. One can find matching Roman numerals on the underside of the nuts and saddles, at the bottom of the nut and saddle slots, and on the underside of the top on many earlier Martins. The gear wheels of these Jeromes are also typical of them, having a disc-like appearance on their outer surfaces with the gear teeth hidden. The buttons are of the extended-oval shape and are of finely polished bone. The rollers are of sold brass, again an indication of top-quality design and construction. All of the gears and worms but one are in excellent condition, with one high-E string worm stanchion needing tightening or replacement and its gear-wheel partially stripped on one side. If you’ve got a similar partial set of Jeromes that you can take a gear wheel from, this is the perfect set for you. It is a most unusual find, close to two hundred years old and in fine overall condition save for one stanchion and gear. $995