Jcarl - Posted - 05/29/2021:  18:59:38

Hey all, I'm trying to track down a little history on this instrument. It looks like a patent 1867 Banjo, but it has this plate on it saying it was presented to the Elks by HC Dobson. It also has some very pretty art on the side and the back and what looks like the original hide! Needs new pegs and a tailpiece, but I'm seriously considering getting this restored! Does anyone have any thoughts on this mysterious instrument and where it came from?

HC 5

HC 4

HC 3

HC 2

HC 1

 

IMBanjoJim - Posted - 05/29/2021:  19:20:12

Wow. That is a nice one!
Presentation grade. Is there a H.C. Dobson stamp on the heel?
Quite the find!

Jcarl - Posted - 05/29/2021:  19:26:12

Yep! Stamped on the heel. Yra, I felt very lucky to get it.

HC 6

 

Bob Sayers - Posted - 05/29/2021:  21:11:55

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was founded in 1868 as a social club for minstrel show performers. So your banjo quite possibly has a connection to some minstrel performer. Very interesting.

IMBanjoJim - Posted - 05/29/2021:  21:21:03

Learn something new every day here!

Alvin Conder - Posted - 05/30/2021:  04:09:08

Nice instrument to say the least.

Very interesting about the Elks. Never knew.

That is an instrument that demands to be restored. Before you do anything to that instrument, please consult the experts here.

Nic Pennsylvania - Posted - 05/30/2021:  06:47:45

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Sayers

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was founded in 1868 as a social club for minstrel show performers. So your banjo quite possibly has a connection to some minstrel performer. Very interesting.

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I couldn't believe that, so I looked it up. You're 100% right. You truly do learn something new everyday. 

Ira Gitlin - Posted - 05/30/2021:  08:28:59

Nice all around, but especially beautiful peghead veneer.

IMBanjoJim - Posted - 05/30/2021:  08:56:49

You would think Dobson presenting a banjo to the Elks would have rated a mention in a local newspaper or music rag. Wouldn’t be cool to find that!

Jcarl - Posted - 05/30/2021:  09:20:02

Thanks for all of the awesome feedback and conversation, y'all. I figured there was a lot of history behind this instrument and hearing some of this gets me really excited.
Jim-Definitely seems like there would be an article out there somewhere about it. It was literally a "presentation" banjo :)
Bob- thanks for the historical context. Like Nic, I had no idea about the origins of the elks.

Bob Sayers - Posted - 05/30/2021:  12:18:19

I would think that Dobson might have been presenting a "salesman's sample" to the Elks to try to interest members in his new-fangled resonator banjos.

Culloden - Posted - 05/30/2021:  12:32:59

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Sayers

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was founded in 1868 as a social club for minstrel show performers. So your banjo quite possibly has a connection to some minstrel performer. Very interesting.

---

Like several others, I never knew this. I know a great deal about the Masonic fraternity but very little about other fraternal organizations. I do know that there is a big Elks lodge in Roanoke, Virginia and railroad workers who were members of it carried an elk's tooth on their watch chains.

Bob Sayers - Posted - 05/30/2021:  14:16:10

Just to clarify my thinking: Where else would the entrepreneurial Henry Dobson want to send one of his newly-fangled resonator banjos than to the Elks, the social club for minstrel performers? I can envision the members passing the instrument around, trying it out.

tbchappe - Posted - 05/30/2021:  16:33:12

You have a humdinger of a banjo there. I’m very jealous.

tbchappe - Posted - 05/30/2021:  16:37:04

Can you show a picture of the neck just before the peghead, from the side or back? I have a presentation 1867 of my own and I’d like to confirm something.

IMBanjoJim - Posted - 05/30/2021:  16:38:54

I particularly like the decals along the side of the pot--could you provide a close up of that?

hbick2 - Posted - 05/30/2021:  16:46:19

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Sayers

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was founded in 1868 as a social club for minstrel show performers. So your banjo quite possibly has a connection to some minstrel performer. Very interesting.

---

Just as important, they formed in order to bypass the New York liquor laws and drink on Sunday. 

mbanza - Posted - 05/30/2021:  17:00:58

The Elks might appreciate photos for their history project: elks.org/history/album.cfm

Jcarl - Posted - 05/31/2021:  08:06:43

Heres the photo of the back of the neck and the pot stenciling.

Hc13

Hc12

Hc11

 

tbchappe - Posted - 05/31/2021:  08:22:03

quote:

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Originally posted by Jcarl

Heres the photo of the back of the neck and the pot stenciling.

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Gracious! This thing is beautiful!

This concludes my suspicions that mine has its neck repaired at some point.

Blaine

tbchappe - Posted - 06/03/2021:  19:34:01

quote:

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Originally posted by Jcarl

Heres the photo of the back of the neck and the pot stenciling.

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Did I see this exact banjo for sale on Facebook marketplace in the banjo buy sell groups? It was these exact pictures. 

 

Blaine

IMBanjoJim - Posted - 06/03/2021:  19:36:06

quote:

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Originally posted by tbchappe

quote:

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Originally posted by Jcarl

Heres the photo of the back of the neck and the pot stenciling.

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Did I see this exact banjo for sale on Facebook marketplace in the banjo buy sell groups? It was these exact pictures. 

 

Blaine

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If so, then I totally missed it.

tbchappe - Posted - 06/03/2021:  19:37:37

quote:

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Originally posted by IMBanjoJim

quote:

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Originally posted by tbchappe

quote:

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Originally posted by Jcarl

Heres the photo of the back of the neck and the pot stenciling.

---

Did I see this exact banjo for sale on Facebook marketplace in the banjo buy sell groups? It was these exact pictures. 

 

Blaine

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If so, then I totally missed it.

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I messaged the seller. If it's the same person I'm interested. If not I'm still interested but suspect it may be a bot.

 Blaine

Jcarl - Posted - 06/03/2021:  19:43:32

Hi, i think the seller still has the ad up. I searched and found it. I can confirm that I have the banjo and it's not for sale at the moment.

crusinbanjo - Posted - 06/04/2021:  12:16:49

You might reach out to Jim Bollman. I don't know if he read this site, but you can find him on FB for sure. His collection is very extensive and I don't think anyone knows more about this era of banjos than him.

Jcarl - Posted - 06/04/2021:  13:05:56

I appreciate that, Paul. We have been talking. He's very intelligent and sure knows a lot about banjos!

hosiers - Posted - 06/13/2021:  19:21:17

The guy I would contact about this instrument is Doug Unger in Peninsula Ohio. He is the only person I’d trust to restore this old an instrument. He also has a number of old tuners that might replace the originals