Prescott Bass Viol or Violoncello
date: label: date made
content: 1831-1833
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 1831-1833. It has a two-piece table of pine; two-piece back of American maple with fine even horizontal figure; ribs of similar maple; moderately figured maple neck, pegbox and scroll with metal tuning mechanism; semi-opaque reddish-brown varnish.</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>This instrument retains many original features intact, including the neck, black painted finger-board, tailpiece and nut. The ribs are inlaid into channeling on the table and back and the instrument bears a single purfling. It has an original printed label:</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS<br> ABRAHAM PRESCOTT<br>MANUFACTURER AND DEALER IN<br>MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS<br>OF EVERY DESCRIPTION<br>NEARLY OPPOSITE THE AMERICAN HOTEL<br>CONCORD, N.H.</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p>The original metal tuning mechanism bears the composite brand stamp:</p>
label: Description (Brief)
content: <p> A. PRESCOTT<br>CONCORD<br> N.H.</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.75.01
label: accession number
content: 312074
label: catalog number
content: 75.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Viol
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: pine (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: maple (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 51 1/4 in x 18 1/4 in x 8 3/8 in; 130.175 cm x 46.355 cm x 21.2725 cm