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Bay State was the brand name of high end acoustic guitars created by the John C. Haynes Company (a department of Ditson), which was founded in 1865 in Boston, Massachusetts. Soon after buying a bankrupt stock of instruments and moving into new premises, John C. Haynes & Co. began making instruments, with 1865 generally attributed to the commencement of production. Initially Haynes started making 'Tilton Improvement' guitars under license and also their own 'Excelsior' Label. The 'Bay State' and 'Hub' labels do not appear to have come into production until the latter part of the 1880's, the Bay State brand being named in honor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
This Bay State Parlor guitar was made in 1897, just before the turn of the century. Bay State guitars from this era are known for their fine wood and intricate inlays and bridges although Bay State also constructed plain unadorned instruments. All guitars were gut string since steel strings were not widely known or used until the 1920’s. It was also an era before truss rods or any kind of neck reinforcements. The thing is though, this guitar has X-bracing so although it might have been sold with gut strings (the bridge also has a straight saddle), it can handle a light set of steelstrings with ease.
As far as we can tell this is a Baystate style F with a 3-ringed fancy rosette, fancy backstrip and multi-layered wooden bindings surrounding the top and back. The back and sides are made out of a stunning set of Brazilian Rosewood which only has two very small repaired cracks in the back and two small repaired cracks in the side. The top is made of spruce which has been braced using X-bracing and is entirely crack-free. The mahogany neck has 12-frets to the body and has a distinct, very comfortable V shape, wide 48,5mm nutwidth and open geared tuners on the sides of the slotted headstock. The ebony bridge is newer and has a drop-in bone saddle with plent of height left. The frets have also been replaced at some point which means that, all in all, this guitar plays as great as she sounds. What is also unique about this particular guitar is that it has the Bay State label, but Haynes and Excelsior stamp on the back of the headstock, the reason for this is probably lost forever in the mysts of time.
The build quality of this guitar is very impressive, it has held together extremely well for over a century. Even the french polish finish shows only a few minor touch-ups. Condition is Very Good with a few repaired cracks in the side and way less than expected playwear and other signs of use, keep in mind that this guitar is 122 years old! Included is a newer hardshell case.
Specifications Body Shape: Parlor Finish: Natural French Polish Body Material: Solid Brazilian Rosewood Top Material: Solid Spruce Lefty No Body Details: X-bracing, intricate 3-ringed rosette, multi-ply body bindings and trim Neck Material: Mahogany Neck Profile: V Fingerboard Material: Ebony Fingerboard Radius: 16” Neck Details: Rosewood headstock over- and underlay, pearl dot position markers Nutwidth: 48,5 mm - 1 15/16" Scale Length: 628 mm - 25 1/2" String spacing: 56.5 mm - 2 1/4" Bridge: Ebony (non original) Tuners: Open geared Pickup None Condition: Very Good Cosmetic Condition: Less than expected playwear and signs of use for its age Modifications/| Listed | 5 years ago |
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