Patent "Cantilever Neck" Banjo
Who made this one?
Here's another of those great patent instruments from the early days of the five string banjo.
Please click the small image
This one achieves an adjustable neck angle with a unique wishbone cantilever affair that adjusts by means of a screw through the shell at the heel, and pivots amidships on the outside of the shell. The fifth string runs down through the neck in a tube in much the same manner as the classic English "zither banjo."
The end of the scalloped "flush fret" fingerboard bears a patent date of 1891. I've seen this same imprint on Martin and other instruments which were modified in this patented style.
July 13, 2000 - I just got a message from Dion Morriss, who tells me this is a Hobart C. Middlebrook "Hoop Neck Rolling Fret Banjo." Thanks for the update, Dion!