U.S. Army Pattern 1883 Drum, Contract Marked

eBay item no. 150308215950 offered for sale at $425.00 by walterbudd-militarygoods ( 685) described as:

A regulation U.S. Army Pattern 1883 Drum in fine condition with interior label of Excelsior Drum Works, with hand written, “CONTRACT JULY 9th”. No year of the contract is written but pre-1886, as pattern and size of drum changed at that time. Excelsior Drum Works were gov’t contractors from 1879 to 1898, and are recorded in Bazelon’s contractor’s listings. Dem’s are 11” high, 16” diameter. Drum is untouched and complete with rope tighteners and leather tension tabs. Exterior label marked, “EAGLE”, indicating the military pattern. This pattern was adopted January 15, 1883. It did not contain a painted US/Shield, which was only adopted with the smaller drum of 1886. The snare head intact, however, the batter head partially split and has a 6” opening. This is an extremely scarce U.S. Army snare drum.