Prescott Bass Viol or Violoncello
date: label: date made
content: 1833 - 1840
name: label: maker
content: Prescott, Abraham
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>This Bass Viol or Violoncello was made by Abraham Prescott in Concord, New Hampshire, around 1833-1840. It has a table of pine in four pieces; back of American maple in two pieces with fine irregular horizontal figure; ribs of similar slab-cut maple; plain maple neck, pegbox and scroll with grafted "ears" and brass machine tuning mechanism; opaque reddish-brown varnish; plain maple fingerboard painted black. This instrument has a printed label:</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>ABRAHAM PRESCOTT<br>MANUFACTURER AND DEALER IN<br>MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS<br>OF EVERY DESCRIPTION<br>Nearly Opposite the State House<br>CONCORD, N.H.</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p> This instrument retains the original neck, fingerboard and machine tuning device. The ribs are inlaid into a channel in the table and back and the f-hole wings are connected to the table. The brass tuning mechanism bears the brand stamp:</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>A. PRESCOTT<br>CONCORD, N.H.</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>and is composed of three dies: (1) A. PRESCOTT (2) CONCORD (3) N.H. On the double bass (catalog #1981.0866), and the bass viol (catalog #MI.75.01), the same dies appear in vertical order, with CONCORD and N.H. on separate lines.</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>Abraham Prescott (1789-1858) was one of the most prolific of the bass viol makers. A self-taught instrument maker, he began his craft in Deerfield, New Hampshire, in 1809 and moved his business to Concord in 1831, where he continued to make violoncellos, bass viols, and double basses (and later reed organs and pianos) until about 1850. Prescott instruments are often fitted with machine-head tuning gears instead of more usual pegs.</p>
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New Hampshire, Concord
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Music & Musical Instruments
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MI.66.492
label: accession number
content: 272086
label: catalog number
content: 66.492
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Viol
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: pine (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: maple (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ebony (tail-piece material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 9 1/2 in x 18 1/2 in x 51 1/2 in; 24.13 cm x 46.99 cm x 130.81 cm