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I got this rare drum from Bill Wanser of Olympic Drums & Percussion. Bill also pointed out a Ludwig Drummer magazine article that places Rose Pearl at 1929, this aligns perfectly as the Standard-Sensitive model was first seen in 1929. Bill agrees that this was an uncatalogued finish, L & L obviously had the material but it was never seen in a catalog, only in a Ludwig Drummer Magazine article.
Read moreEdward Tucker revives the "Catalog Corner" column which Harry Cangany for so many years. Catalogs are so important the vintage drum collectors. Thank you, Edward, for sharing your large catalog collection and your knowledge of vintage drums!
Read more*Collectors of the same 1930s era Ludwigs and Slingerlands know this finish as Abalone Pearl but Leedy chose to call their finish Oriental Pearl.
Read moreIn 2010, I purchased a 4.5 x 14 White Marine Pearl Broadway New Era snare drum from Soul Drums in Toronto. Over the course of time, I traded the drum to Century Drums, previously located in Toronto, for another drum. I regretted that decision and kept my eye out for a chance to buy another one. Luckily just last year, Soul Drums had another 4.5 x 14 Broadway New Era snare only this time in Red Sparkle finish. I’m not parting with this one.
Read moreHere is a great example of a 1954 Leedy & Ludwig 6.5”x14” Dance Model snare drum in white marine pearl finish in outstanding condition without any blemishes.
Read more“Cymbal Tryout Stand” for POS (point of sale) Leedy Drum Dealer countertop use and display.
Read moreHere we have a nice example of an early 1950’s Leedy and Ludwig Knob Tension kit. This unique outfit first appeared in the 1951 catalog and made its last appearance in 1953.
Read moreThere were a few gremlins that the previous owner neglected to tell Mark about. The worst was that the two strainer thumb wheels were forced on, cross-threaded and frozen in place. This is when you need a good machinist or friend. In this case my good friend Al Schneider (the original Drum Doctor est. 1963) came to the rescue.
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The ad is from the Sept. 10, 1952 issue of Downbeat Magazine
Read moreCertain shell depths are more rare than others. The 5 x 14 is the most common size. It is a toss-up between the 4 x 14 and 6 x 14 as to the 2nd most rare of the Elite sizes, but the rarest of all is the 7 x 14 Elite.
Read moreLike many of you, I've come upon a good number of orphan drums through the years of collecting, buying and playing. This kit consists of orphan drums that were either included with kits purchased or just purchased to add on. But some with the hopes to piece an entire kit together (which is still possible!). But what is special about these drums is that they are all very rare and hard to find sparkling pearl wraps in pristine condition by the Great American Drum Companies of yesteryear.
Read more…how did this Leedy wrap from 1940-41 end up on a 1951 Leedy & Ludwig snare drum?
Read more*A little Marvel Model history from Rob Cook's book THE LEEDY WAY: "The
Marvel Snare Strainer was Leedy's first attempt at a strainer that would
keep the snares under tension when released.
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.
Read moreHere is a great example of a 1938 Leedy Broadway Standard in white marine pearl. Leedy only offered this unique 4-point strainer on these models for one year. This snare was special ordered with ornate engraved rims. All hardware was ordered and upgraded to the optional chrome plating. Chrome plating was more expensive than nickel for the upgrade.
Read moreI saw this one at a NAMM Show in the late 1990s, maybe early 2000s. At that time Leedy was trying for some type of comeback. I got the drum from Sam Bacco who at the time was associated with Leedy. He told me that he located one long-lost piece of this material from Slingerland and there was enough material left over to make a Leedy Broadway Standard snare drum. Sam told me that the finish was made with melted guitar picks (you can see some un-melted guitar picks in the finish).
Read moreI’d like to start this story by both thanking and blaming Mark Cooper (Coopers Vintage Drums) J. Many years ago, I met Mark at one of the Chicago Drum Shows. He was sharing his fabulous collection of vintage green-wrapped drums from Slingerland and Leedy.
Read moreOne day in late 2020, I was doing my usual browsing through vintage drum-related social media posts and came across a 1936 Leedy & Strupe (L&S) white marine pearl drum kit for sale. This L&S kit consisted of a white marine pearl 14 x 28” bass drum (with calf heads), 9 x 13” tom (tacked bottom head), 6.5 X 14” snare, cowbell, and various hardware (original L&S bass drum pedal, hi-hat with lamb wool beater, Clamp-Rite trap holders, spurs). According to Harry Cangany (noted author, drum historian), this kit was, “a ‘Dictator’ model in white pearl (L&S name for white marine pearl)…1936 is probably correct.”
Read moreThis wonderful old wood kit consisting of 14x22 bass drum, 8X12 and 9x13 toms, 16x16 floor tom and the great cracking 5x14 Utility snare drum is the recording kit of studio dreams.
Read moreA word about Leedy Oriental Pearl vs. Ludwig & Ludwig Abalone Pearl: Personally I think the two finishes are one in the same…
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