Jas. Morrison (1882 patent) 5-string banjo, S/N 271, Circa 1880's
James Morrison of New York sold "patented steel hoop" banjos starting in the 1870's and they continued to be sold until 1912. Morrison's patent, issued in 1882, was for a banjo with a steel hoop suspended on posts driven into the rim. This was one of the first examples of a raised tone ring on a production banjo, and I include a picture of the tone ring arrangement below.
