Saturday, March 14, 2009

Signed 1860's (J.W. Pepper) Civil War Drum

eBay seller bran419( 146) describes item no. 110360236425, "Signed 1860's (J.W. Pepper) Civil War Drum", as follows:

This rare civil war drum features fine wide oak veneer wood with top and bottom trims around the head in dark mahogany. All pieces of this drum are original including strings, metal hooks, leather, original drum tightening key and original drum heads on top and bottom. Inside this drum is signed J.W. Pepper Drums - Musical Instruments - Music and Musical Merchandise. Eighth and Locust street - Philadelphia - Pennsylvania. Size is 15 1/2" in diameter and 13 1/2" in height. No damage to drum heads on top or bottom. Mint condition for a drum of this age. Great piece for Civil War memoribillia collector.

2 comments:

  1. JW Pepper did not exist in the 1860s

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good observation by an alert reader for which are grateful.

    Wikipedia states:

    "James Welsh Pepper was born in Philadelphia in 1853, and died in the same city on July 28, 1919. He was an American music publisher and musical instrument maker.[2]

    In 1876, Pepper founded a publishing house in his home city which printed music tutorial books and a magazine called Musical Times, which ceased production in 1912. Additionally, Pepper produced musical instruments such as drums until 1910, the year in which J.W. Pepper & Son was founded. Pepper is often credited with inventing the sousaphone around 1893, although there have been some disputes to this claim.

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