Thompson & Odell (by J.B. Treat) Field Drum

eBayer eds541( 443), a Civil War collector in Oregon who has been in touch with the Blogmaster, phoned last week to say that he will be selling some of his Civil War collection. He has posted a very clean Thompson & Odell field drum as eBay item no. 200349525528 and bidding is underway.


eBayer eds541( 443) writes as follows:

This being one of my favorites, is a snare drum with dimensions being 16 1/2" in diameter X 10 1/2" tall. It was made by J.B. Treat for Thompson and Odell of Boston. The label is still affixed to the inner shell and is crisp and clear.

The address on the label lists the company at 177 Washington. According to the "Directory Of American Military Goods & Makers 1755-1915" they were at that address from 1880-86. However, on our label, the 177 has a pencil mark through it and 523 is written underneath. They were at 523 from 1890-1900.

Apparently they were using up their remaining stock of labels, thus probably putting this drum at 1889-90.

A military drum with the same label, made by Treat, was listed in one of Flaydermans catalogs back in the 1960s. Thompson and Odell drums are quite desirable, however the ones made by J.B. Treat are RARE, military drums by Treat, VERY RARE.

There is a Thompson and Odell, Treat drum on display at the National Music Museum in South Dakota, it is part of the Ludwig Collection. It however is a later model with a 1905 date.

FieldDrums.com is another excellent site to see a Thompson and Odell, plus MANY great drums and articles.

As you can see from the photos, this drum is museum quality. A centerpiece to most any military, or drum collection. If you are buying it to play, it is 100% playable, the skins wouldn't even have to be changed, just adjust the tension! It is 100% original, down to the tugs and rope. Skins, gut snares, everything looks to be original and untouched! Usually when I get a drum, the first thing I do is hand rub the tugs with Pecards Leather Treatment. BUT NOT THIS ONE. All 12 tugs are present, original, and in great shape! This truly is a rare and beautiful drum. Hopefully the pictures will speak for themselves.