1803 39th Regiment of Militia

From the private collection of James L. Kochan sold by Richard Opfer Auctioneering, Inc.

Regimental Drum of the 39th Regiment of Militia, c. 1803 This is a rope-tension, snare drum as issued to the Carmarthenshire Regiment, which was renumbered as the 39th Regiment of Militia in 1803. Per royal warrant, drums were to have their fronts “painted with the colour of the facing of the Regiment, with the King’s cypher and the crown, and the number of the regiment under it.” It is most likely that this drum had been issued earlier in the 18th century, as the facings for this corps were changed to blue in 1799 when they received a “Royal” designation and ground is yellow. In all other respects, it conforms to that regulation. There is a split in the wooden shell around the center of the drum which was repaired by a previous owner; during this restoration, the old varnish of the shell was removed and new varnish reapplied after light inpainting of loss in the damaged area--hence the brightness of the yellow paint as opposed to that on the rim (which still has its original now-darkened, varnish over it). The shell and rims are original, while the heads and cords are modern replacements. $3000/3500