An art conservator for a southwestern museum has been asked to treat a drum from the museum's collection. The drum is going to be exhibited in a new museum and the curator would like it to be repaired prior to exhibit.
The donor claimed the drum was from the Civil War Battle of Glorieta, New Mexico.
The conservator asks whether any of our readers might be familiar with such drums
It is possible that this drum was made on the western frontier. It does not have an obvious snare mechanism and there is no evidence that there ever was an attachment point for a snare mechanism.
The shell of the drum is made from wood and covered with a sheet of tin. The drum has also clearly been repaired at least once. All of the repairs appear to have some age to them, and might have been field repairs.
Any information that our readers can provide would be most helpful.
Questions:
1. First, would you recommend doing anything at all to this drum?
2. If you would recommend doing something, what would you recommend?
3. Do you have any knowledge of shell construction involving a tin sheet laid over a wooden shell?
4. Would this have been a snare drum?
5. Would this have been a military drum?
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