194.           $250

E. Howard & Co. “No. 4 Regulator” (banjo), ca. 1874.  At 32 inches, the No. 4 banjo is 3 inches longer than the more common No. 5 and has a 1-inch larger dial (8 inches).  This example is a rescue-banjo – it has had a rough life and significant low-budget restoration.  The walnut(?) case appears to have been stripped and stained with a walnut stain; the grain painting that was originally present has been lost and its absence is especially noticeable on the dial bezel.  The bottom has also been knocked out but is undamaged.  The dial glass is a convex replacement with loose, decaying putty; the throat glass is a proper replacement, the box glass is likely original but has been broken in half and repaired.  The dial is hand-crafted wood with a paper overlay, with some smearing of the ink numbering.  The hands are correct, possibly original, but have been painted silver; there's no way of understanding that.  The 8-day, time-only, weight-driven movement is not signed; it runs for a while and then stops, driven by a proper No. 4 cast iron weight on a brass pulley.  The pendulum stick is a replacement, broken and repaired, with stick-on weights at the top and an appropriate brass bob, but not Howard issue.  There is an old wooden weight shield, a pendulum tie-down, and a reproduced Howard label.  Parts?  $250–$500.