Darracott New England Bass Viol
date: label: date made
content: 1829
name: label: maker
content: Darracott, William
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>This New England Bass Viol was made by William Darracott in Milford, New Hampshire, in 1829. This instrument has a four-piece table of pine, back of American maple in two pieces with faint, irregular horizontal figure, ribs of plain maple cut on 45o, plain maple neck, pegbox and scroll with four plain hardwood pegs, opaque brown varnish overall excepting the re-varnished transparent back, plain maple fingerboard and tailpiece painted black.</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>This instrument does not have ribs set into channeling of the edges on table and back, they are simply glued flush to the edge surfaces. The f-holes are joined to the table at the wings as is typical with New England bass viols. The fingerboard and tailpiece are original. There is an original printed label inside the instrument:</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>WILLIAM DARRACOTT<br>MUSICAL INSTRUMENT<br>MAKER<br>MILFORD N.H.<br>1829</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>The modern term for this instrument is church bass. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, this instrument was also known as the American bass viol, New England bass viol, or Yankee bass viol. These church basses were used in churches and meeting houses to provide a bass line for maintaining a consistent key by New England congregational singers. The church bass was also used by popular singing groups such as the Hutchinson Family singers.</p>
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New Hampshire, Milford
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Music & Musical Instruments
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Charles G. Abbot
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MI.73.41
label: accession number
content: 306497
label: catalog number
content: 73.41
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Viol
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood, pine (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood, maple (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 8 3/4 in x 19 3/4 in x 52 3/4 in; 22.225 cm x 50.165 cm x 133.985 cm
label: Measurements
content: body: 83.2 cm; 32 3/4 in
label: Measurements
content: lower bout: 50 cm; 19 11/16 in
label: Measurements
content: upper bout: 40 cm; 15 3/4 in
label: Measurements
content: neck: 12 cm; 4 23/32 in
label: Measurements
content: base: 12.5 cm; 4 29/32 in