Converses' other interests?

[Joel Hooks]

So... I'm sitting here reading 19th century patents because I am a real winner, and I stumble across these.

http://www.google.com/patents?id=1FlBAAAAEBAJ&pg

http://www.google.com/patents?id=-hs_AAAAEBAJ&pg

http://www.google.com/patents?id=fzFfAAAAEBAJ&pg

He seems to of had a thing for corsets, as I quickly found two patents for clasps.

At first I thought these could have come from a different F.B.C., but the signature and attorney on the clasp patents are the same as on this one for a tuning peg...

http://www.google.com/patents?id=YZdDAAAAEBAJ&pg

Not important, but interesting to me anyway.

[Carl Anderton]

That's pretty dang interesting. Was his tuning mechanism ever used? At first I thought it was geared but he actually uses an internal spring. I wonder who used the first geared tuner on a banjo?

[Trapdoor2]

Ashborn? ;-)

I would guess the first internally geared banjo tuners were used successfully in the 1920's...planetary tuners maybe a bit later. Strictly a guess though, I'll bet there are patents out there to search...

Carl Anderton said:

That's pretty dang interesting. Was his tuning mechanism ever used? At first I thought it was geared but he actually uses an internal spring. I wonder who used the first geared tuner on a banjo?

[Trapdoor2]

http://www.google.com/patents?id=4jl5AAAAEBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=%22...

A.D. Grover appears to have posted the first patent in 1923. Odd that the only "Grover" style pegs still available are the old friction type!