Clifford Essex Banjo research

I am trying to find out about the Clifford Essex banjo in the pic.. it belongs to a friend who can’t play at all but has had it in a cupboard for about 40 years. He asked me to try it out but I can’t work out how to set it up.. it has no strings. It’s nicely built but worn.. could someone give me a bit of a lead to who might be able to help and what it might be worth?