1924 - 1926 Leedy ‘Paisley Gold’ Professional Model Snare Drum - Finish : Paisley Gold (Uncatalogued) Size : 5 x 14

March 30, 2022 Chris Ardoin

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There are two known examples of this particular Leedy finish on snares. The first first example belongs to Mike Curotto, which was previously referred to as "Antique Wallpaper", given the pattern and nature of the material, and the second being this featured drum only recently uncovered in October of 2021. It is also understood that there is an example of a bass drum that was seen however not documented to my knowledge as of this writing. The shell and wrap on these drums are what makes them so unique.

1928 - 1935 Slingerland Artist Model Snare

September 22, 2017 Chris Ardoin

‘The Slingerland All-Metal Separate Tension Snare Drum is guaranteed to maintain its rigidity and its tenseness. It is unyielding to rough usage, due to the specially treated metal and its construction. One-piece shell and no solder used at any point.’

Butterscotch Pearl finish on a 1940s Ludwig & Ludwig 6.5 x 15 snare drum

August 17, 2017 Chris Ardoin

There isn’t a surplus of information concerning these elusive Butterscotch drums. There are only two complete kits known to exist and possible just a hand full of snare drums as of this writing. A theory is that Ludwig received a bad batch of Black Diamond Pearl wrap and proceeded to use the wrap regardless of the discolorations. The finish was later coined “Butterscotch” by collectors.

A 1961 Rogers Dynasonic finds its way back home!

March 15, 2017 Chris Ardoin

This particular drum is stamped #1308 which puts it towards the later side of production in 1961.The drum currently belongs to former Rogers employee, Jerry Shields. Jerry was an expert in tuning and setting up these beautiful drums prior to their shipping from the factory. In September of 2016, a group of Rogers enthusiasts set up a Kickstarter campaign to purchase this drum for Jerry’s birthday. We were fortunate to have Jerry share some words on his days with the Rogers Company.

The Goodwilled Salesman: 1951 WFL Banded Pearl 6.5"x 14" Snare Drum

March 20, 2016 Chris Ardoin

The actual drums that were used to feature all of the finish offerings by WFL at this time were titled Dealer Display. This option was made available to dealers beginning in the 1949 catalog in which all seven of the pearl finishes were featured vertically on each panel of a 12” x 15” field drum.

Database of Articles 11/13 to current