What's Not So Hot About This Drum? The art work is just fair, nothing great. And the blue background does not extend the full length of the shell (the top margin might be hidden if the heads were pulled down tight, but then the bottom of the eagle's claws and the arrows would be cut off).
Speaking of which (cut-off) the misplacement of the painting viz. the vertical axis of the drum suggests that the drum was once taller and has been cut down to 11-3/4 inches.
And, not to be picky, the rope and leather snare stop look to be relatively new.
Also, the placement of the snare mechanism near the drummer's right hand for tightening while the drum is slung is wrong (should be by the drummer's left hand (higher) so whomever was assembling (or reassembling) this drum might not have been thinking about wearing and using the drum (you can tell where the strainer is from the placement of the leather snare stop -- the adjustment mechanism, if any, would be 180 degrees opposite which would be to the drummer's right [thanks Terry, good observation -- see comment below]).
Finally, the roping job is poor -- a knot? -- and no drag line. If the rope is a replacement, why not do the job right?
What's Pretty Good About This Drum? The pulls look old enough (but they could be new and artificially "aged") and the hooks and snare mechanism look vintage Civil War.
So, "dptydog" (eBay name of winning bidder), not a bad price if you had to have an eagle drum in your collection. But it appears that the pros stayed away from this one for a reason, actually probably many reasons (as above).
Any comments or other perspectives are always welcome.
The seller wrote:
"... A GREAT CIVIL WAR PAINTED DRUM. DRUM IS IN GREAT CONDTION WITH ONE OF THE RAWHIDE STRECTED SKINS REPLACED WITH A ROUND PIECE OF WOOD. YOU COULD TAKE IT TO A DRUM STORE AND HAVE A NEW PIECE STRECTED BACK ON IT. LOOKING THROUGH A LITTLE PEEP HOLE THERE IS A MAKERS STAMP INSIDE THE DRUM BUT I CAN'T MAKE IT OUT DUE TO POOR EYE SIGHT. DRUM IS ALL ORIGINAL AND FROM THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD .... LOOKING THROUGH THE PEEP HOLE I CAN MAKE OUT HARTFORD CONN. ALSO THE DRUM MEASURE'S 11 3/4 INCHES IN HEIGHT AND 17 INCHES WIDE."
Ellis, Congratulations on a wonderfully concise page. A former customer lead me to your site. Very well done, indeed.
ReplyDeleteYou mention that someone with relative knowledge of drums assembled this drum, with regard to the strainer. Having the strainer to the right would be quite difficult to adjust, when carrying the drum, as that would be the lowest point. I can barely reach the strainer when mounted high on the left. The real question is whether the drum had a snare bed. I would suggest the bed (or best position) would be between the next 2 ropes, further from the art.
Looking at the claws, the one fitted for the sling is to the left of the eagle, which would place the in the player's crotch.
So I must, respectfully, disagree that any real thought went into assembling the drum.
Keep up the good work.
Terry