I recently had the good fortune to pick up an original edition of Frank Converse's Banjo without a master. Authored by Converse, then a renowned banjo player and performer, this nice little book, published in 1865, represents one of the earliest popularly available banjo tutors. It contains an extensive slice of the minstrel repertoire, with highly detailed, measure-by-measure instructions on how to play each tune.

3 new banjo pages added to the gallery (click and see):