I did see JJN on a TV show in 1959. It was called FOLKSOUND U.S.A.---on CBS I think. The host was Cisco Houston who introduced everyone and sang Woody's "Hard Travelin" and the railroad building song "Paddy Works On The Railway". Joan Baez, Frank Warner, Scruggs and Flatt, John Lee Hooker ("The Tupelo, Mississippi Flood")---and some others were there as well. I've looked for but never found that show on DVD or VHS...

But Mr. Niles played a dulcimer that looked like it had been snake-bit and was swelled up so bad it was 'bout to pop. It had about half as many strings as a 8-bar standard Oscar Schmidt autoharp. The announcer asked him, "Where did you get those rhythms?" His answer: "They're my family heirlooms"---

Art Thieme