Unbranded Mandolin-Banjo 8 String "Banjolin" 1940s? - Natural

VINTAGE, RARE, MANDOLIN-BANJO circa 1940s? with Vintage hardshell case (no key).

Recently found abandoned in the attic of an old house in Secaucus, New Jersey that was being renovated. New strings & bridge. Spare bridge included. Adjustments may be required (I am a guitar guy, I have no experience setting up Banjos OR Mandolins! Lol).

    The mandolin-banjo is a hybrid instrument, combining a  body with the neck and tuning of a . It is a soprano banjo independently invented in more than one country, variously being called mandolin-banjo, banjo-mandolin, banjolin and banjourine in English-speaking countries, banjoline and bandoline in France.

    The instrument has the same  length as a mandolin (about 14 inches); with 4 courses of strings  identically to the  and mandolin (low to high: GDAE). The movable bridge stands on a resonant banjo-like head typically 10 inches in diameter and currently usually made of plastic. Originally heads were made of skin and varied in diameter to as small as five inches. Larger heads were favored, however, as they were louder, and thus more audible in band settings.

Inventors were experimenting to create amplified instruments in the days before electric amplification. The first patent for a mandolin-banjo was taken out in 1882 by Benjamin Bradbury of Brooklyn. The name banjolin was first patented by John Farris in 1885. The instrument was popularized prior to the 1920s, when the  became more popular. In the heyday of  and  bands (late 19th–early 20th century), all sorts of instruments were produced. The mandolin-banjo is one of the hybrids that resulted. It enabled mandolinists to produce a banjo sound without having to learn that instrument's fingerings. The instrument adds the banjo's volume to the mandolin. (PLEASE NOTE: if you watch the video, the person playing the instrument is not me, and the instrument is NOT THE EXACT SAME instrument offered in this listing. I did not make this video. This video is available for FREE on YouTube along with many other videos and is used here only as an example of what this type of instrument sounds and looks like.)

***Condition Disclaimer***PLEASE READ THIS!
This is a USED item. Please see images for details and ask any questions you may have I strive to provide detailed photographs that accurately represent each item I sell. However, there may be some scratches, nicks, dents, scuffs, chips, and other honest wear that do NOT SHOW UP IN A PHOTOGRAPH, as well as variations in color due to photographic lighting! Please do not hesitate to request additional SPECIFIC photos of an item BEFORE YOU PURCHASE! 100% full functionality of an item as if it were “brand new” is not implied and cannot be guaranteed. I list PREVIOUSLY OWNED items. Please read the condition description in my listing and study the Reverb.com definition for each condition grade. Please do not expect a “MINT” guitar if I have posted “GOOD” condition in a listing. I DO NOT OFFER REFUNDS OR ACCEPT RETURNS! ALL SALES ARE FINAL!