Indiana Tabor and the Attic of the Prescott Bass

Back in 2019, our esteemed former site administrator Tabor Morrell decided to put his archeological training to use in the Reed Homestead attic. While exploring through the cobwebs up there, he came across an unexpected find – a double bass, the largest of the string instruments. As luck would have it, his brother-in-law, Jason Lee, happened to play the double bass, so Taber send him a picture to determine if it had any value whatsoever..

To their surprise, Jason told Tabor that the double bass was no ordinary instrument, but an extremely rare and highly sought-after Abraham Prescott Double Bass. Abraham Prescott started making double basses in 1819, when the Reed Homestead was only a few years old. With workshops first in Deerfield then Concord, NH, he helped define the art of making double basses in the United States and worldwide, and to this day his instruments are prized around the world. By the time of his death in 1858, he had built only 207, making Tabor’s find all the more remarkable. No record has yet been found of the donor of this instrument.

The Townsend Historical Society then worked tirelessly to fundraise, and with help from grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Bruce J. Anderson Foundation, work began to restore the instrument. Billerica-based luthier (stringed instrument specialist) Volker
Nahrmann was hired to begin the painstaking work. For the first time since being built by Mr. Prescott, Volker opened the instrument as show in the photos. https://www.nahrmannbass.com/updates/original-prescott-top

This fall the work was completed, and the instrument arrived home at the Reed Homestead. Jason Lee himself volunteered to give the first concert with the newly-restored instrument at our 2024 annual meeting, with his attic-exploring brother-in-law Tabor Morrell in attendance. With Raul Abbad accompanying him on guitar, Jason played music stretching from the Baroque through Jazz to the Beatles.