Very Old, Vintage Drum Kit - serious collectors item

M.D. Holloway · 12-30-2007, 05:56 PM

A very good friend of mine in Connecticut sent me this e-mail concerning a very old drum kit he came across. He is the store manager for Caruso Music.

Caruso Music purchased these drums yesterday. The original owner (now late 70 yrs of age) played these when he was a kid. There is a pencil notation inside the snare drum that it was once repaired by a Mr. Damas in 1950. Coincidentally, the first snare I ever had was a Slingerland Radio King...also repaired by the same gentleman at some point! The guy that brought these in said "that was my drum teacher growing up!". Small world.

So...my options are...PLAN A...spend a weekend cleaning these up and asking a premium...or PLAN B...let them go "as is" with the knowledge that someone who makes these a labor of love would end up with some very cool drums in the end at a very reasonable price. I'm going with PLAN B.

The snare drum is a rare Oliver Ditson 4.5x15 shell BIRDSEYE Maple with vintage claw-hooks. Everything is original including the calf-skin heads (bottom one is torn). I can't even venture when this was made but I'm guessing late 1800's to very early 1900's. A quick history lesson teaches that Oliver Ditson himself was born in 1811. In 1856 one of his employees, J. C. Haynes, became interested in the business, and the firm name was permanently changed to Oliver Ditson & Co. In 1867 his eldest son in New York City, under the style of C. H. Ditson, established a branch house & Co., and in 1876 another in Philadelphia, J. E. Ditson & Co. The snare drum, if I have to clean it up and do some minor repair work on the snares and botto head, and a good general cleaning...would go on the chopping block for $800 to $1000.00. The "as is" price is $600.00.

The bass drum is a 14" x 28" Leedy Reliance Made in Elkhart Indiana sometime in the 1930's. Like the snare drum, everything is original. The heads are in decent shape, no cracks or major gouges in the drums. The hoops are a bit worn but nothing crazy. A good cleaning and this would be a nice drum (would also make a killer coffee table with a piece of glass laid over one side!). I will sell the bass drum for $495.00...you pay the oversize shipping.

The pedal is an ancient Ludwig that works fine and is intact...save for the missing beater. I'll let that go for $100.00...or I will throw it into the deal if you buy both drums. I'll sell the snare stand for $25 or throw in for whoever buys the snare drum.

An interesting thing to note is how well the coloration of these drums is an exact match to one another, despite them being original finish and from two different makers!

Here are some pics...let me know.

TimT · 12-30-2007, 07:58 PM

The house I moved into 15 years or so ago came with a grand piano, the sellers didnt want to move it, I didnt object to it being in the house when I moved in.

I dont have kids.. my brothers kids always played the piano when they
visit, and one of my nieces wanted to learn piano.... My brother asked if he could have the piano....

He paid the movers to relocate the piano...

It turns out I gave my brother a Sohmer piano worth about 30K

my niece loves to play it, and it looks good in my brothers house...

M.D. Holloway · 12-31-2007, 06:52 AM

I know this guy well - I grew up with him. He knows his drums. That being said, he is in the business to make money so I would imagine he is looking to make something on it. The problem with these old, rare items is that they really are worth what someone is willing to pay and the only way to set a starting price is to research what was bought that was simliar and adjust accordingly.

The other thing to consider is the depreciation that could occur with cleaning it up. I have a 150 year old mahagony library table that I refinished professionally. The piece is stunning but because I had it refinished it lost what ever value it may have had as an antique. No big deal to me because I wanted use it as a piece of furniture and not an investment. With these drums, I am not so sure you would want to use them they way drums should be used so it might be best to have them as show items or as an investment and keep them in their original state.

Funny thing is, I guess you can draw the same analogy for old cars as well...

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

nice patina of age, keep them like that

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

Lube,
Contact John Aldridge at notsomoderndrummer.com, he's a great guy and he'll tell you what you need to know about those vintage drums. I collect Slingerlands, myself...

jluetjen · jluetjen's Garage

That Reliance bass drum looks like something that I played on at some point in a concert band. It may be completely unrelated to the snare drum, or not. It would be hard to say. The Snare drum, stand and pedal though look like the read deal though!

varmint · 12-31-2007, 10:35 AM

old guitars are valuable because there are alot of old guitarists with money. drums are not worth so much because all old drummers are poor.

maybe one of their striper girlfriends could buy it for them.

okay, cheap jokes aside, here's a list of musical instrument appraisers.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/series/appraisers/musical.html

Oh Haha · 12-31-2007, 11:37 AM

Hey, my ex-wife wasn't stripper, she was a barfly. Bigggggggg difference. Pfft.

I sold a mid 50's Leedy snare to a fellow on the East a couple years ago. As Mike said, some antiques are only worth what someone is willing to pay.

Gogar · 12-31-2007, 01:20 PM

Check out the "Drummers guide to Vintage Drums" by John Aldridge.

He also has a website and magazine "Not so Modern Drummer Magazine."

http://www.notsomoderndrummer.com/

The website has a forum, perhaps you could post there.

If you like, I could email John your photos, and he would be happy to give you a realistic idea about what they are and how valuable. He's a good guy.