136.             $400

Horace Tifft North Attleboro MA banjo, 1837-1850. A 33-inch mahogany banjo with wooden side-arms in typical Tifft style.  Tifft was one of the first N. Attleboro banjo clockmakers (Spittlers & Bailey, Clockmakers & Watchmakers of America) and had a distinctive style.  The three glasses are period/original and have not been restored; the throat glass has two horizontal cracks, and the tablet is peeling badly with losses.  The painted dial bears the H Tifft signature above the ‘VI’ and shows its age.  The hands are likely original.  The pinned movement is running, driven by a cast iron weight which does have the initials ‘HT’ very faintly cast into the front.  There is a tin weight shield at the bottom.  Tifft banjos are not uncommon.  $400-$600.