Ramey Encore Automatic Banjo
(made by the Ramey Piano Company)

The American Automatic Banjo Co. of N.J. builders plate on the top crest of an original Encore Automatic Banjo.
Banjo Top-Crest Builders (Patent) Plate. An original cast bronze builders plate for "The American Automatic Banjo Co. of N.J."
The new Ramey Encore Automatic Banjo with the case open, revealing the interior components.
The reddish colored bin at bottom left holds the endless 5-tune music roll, which feeds upward through the rollers and over the tracker bar (visible directly above the red colored music roll storage bin). The electric motor (barely visible to the right of the roll storage bin) is belted to the pump assembly, which is located at the back of the machine.
Close-up of the banjo in the New Ramey Encore Automatic Banjo.
Two string picker assemblies are situated on either side of the banjo, with the actual picking arms and the tiny templates that describe their picking orbits supported by the ornate nickel-plated metalwork. Each of the four independent pickers is operated by a single, large pneumatic, delivering a quick motion, with more than enough motive power to do the job.
Close-up of the left-side banjo picking mechanism in the new Ramey Encore Automatic Banjo.
Close-up of the left-side banjo picking mechanism. The two flat springs forward of the pneumatics and ornate bracket offer sliding resistance to the pivoted picker wires. This resistance causes the pickers to follow "elliptical" orbits described by tiny templates located about two inches inward from the banjo end of the supporting bracket.
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