Taylor Acoustic Guitar Liberty Tree Limited Edition 2002

Description: TAYLOR LIBERTY TREE GUITAR 2002 Absolutely pristine early model #20 of 400 guitars produced. This guitar is visually stunning and truly one of a kind. The two-piece figured back gives the impression of two of the storied Annapolis colonists have a conversation. The Liberty Tree stood on the campus of St. John’s College in Annapolis until 1999 when it was so severely damaged by Hurricane Floyd that four arborists who were called for consultation declared it couldn’t be saved. It was “not just any tree,” mourned one writer who attended the solemn ceremony before the tree was cut down. The ceremony was attended by hundreds who were treated to speeches by the governor of Maryland and other dignitaries. They heard a St. John’s professor sing the “Star Spangled Banner,” which was written by a former St. John’s student, Francis Scott Key, nearly 200 years before. A bell tolled 13 times for the 13 original colonies. But the crowd was silent as the chain saws whirred into the beloved tree, some of them choking back tears. As the tree fell, people carried away small branches and clusters of leaves as souvenirs. Some of the wood was saved, but the trunk was hauled off to a landfill and two recycling centers. It was only because a landscaper in Annapolis “rescued” the wood that was destined for the landfill that Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars was able to obtain it. The tree was already more than 175 years old that September in 1775 when Maryland colonists gathered under it to protest taxes imposed by the British royal government. Bob Taylor felt the same way about the wood. When he found it was available, he bought enough of it in June 2000 to make 400 guitars. Taylor wanted to make something that would live for another 200 years or so and tell the story of the Liberty Trees’ role in the founding of the nation. The Liberty Tree Guitars were 18 months in the wood-processing, designing and building. The nation’s first Liberty Tree was a stately elm, the largest of a group that stood in Boston on the corner of what is now Essex and Washington streets. The tree sheltered countless rallies, meetings and celebrations held by the Sons of Liberty. It was the tree where the colonists gathered to protest of the Stamp Act of 1765, decrying the British imposed “taxation”without representation.” The rampage that ensued came to be known as the Stamp Act Riots when Bostonians trashed property, circulated petitions against the British and tarred and feathered anyone they thought loyal to the British throne. The last act of violence by British soldiers prior to their evacuation of Boston was the chopping down of the Boston Liberty Tree. Each colony grew to have its own Liberty Tree or Pole, sites of many rallies by American revolutionaries.Most were destroyed by the British and the others were killed by disease or storms, but the Maryland Liberty Tree somehow survived not only storms, but a gunpowder explosion inside its trunk, attempts to burn it down and lightning strikes. It was estimated to be about 400 years old at its death in 1999. Colonists in Annapolis met under the Liberty Tree to foment their own version of the Boston Tea Party. Upon learning that Andrew Stewart, owner of the ship Peggy Stewart, had sailed into Annapolis harbor with the ship full of more than 2,300 pounds of tea, the angry mob marched from the Liberty Tree to his house, giving him an ultimatum: burn the ship and the tea or be hanged.Stewart set the ship on fire by his own hand. Only the sparkle of the abalone shell trim around the sinuous outline of the Liberty Tree Guitar recalls that fiery episode. The acoustic instrument is a beautiful work of guitar craftsmanship, befitting the history of the wood. SPECS: Dimensions-Total Length-40 13/16" Dimensions-Body Length-19 9/16" Dimensions-Body Upper Bout-11" Dimensions Body-Waist-8 11/16" Dimensions-Body Lower Bout-15" Dimensions-Body Depth-3 3/16"" to 3 31/32"" Dimensions-Neck Width @ Nut-1.75", 1 3/4, 44.54mm Width @ Nut: Outside E to E-1 8.38/16" / 1.526" / 38.77mm Dimensions-String Spacing @ Saddle-2 7/32" / 2.165" / 56.3mm Dimensions-Radius-15 Dimensions-Scale-25.4" / 25 13/32" / 645.16mm (Dream has 25.5") Electronics-No Fingerboard-Ebony Finish-UV Cured Polyurethane over antique stain Frets to Neck-14 Frets Total-20 Wood-Back-Tulip Poplar from last Liberty Tree in Annapolis, Maryland Wood-Binding-Ivoroid with abalone purfling around the top Wood-Bridge-Ebony with ebony bridge pins with MOP dots Wood-Headstock-Mahogany with boltaron binding and overlay of American flag Wood-Neck-1 Piece Mahogany Wood-Sides-Tulip Poplar from last Liberty Tree in Annapolis, Maryland Wood-Top-Sitka spruce Year Made-2002 Includes: Taylor Custom Hard Shell Case All original paperwork Certificate of Authenticity Taylor Magazine Featuring Liberty Tree Model DVD with Liberty Tree Guitar Story

Price: 8900 USD

Location: Ossining, New York

End Time: 2025-01-09T20:37:28.000Z

Shipping Cost: 150 USD