Abner Stevens Drum, ca. 1811

This beauty is brought to us by Brian Hill, author of "On the Ropes," a column feature of "Not So Modern Drummer" and comes in at 14"(h) by 16.5" (dia.).  Hill attributes the drum to Abner Stevens of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Brian writes:

Many drums offer a collector a good deal of the unknown in what is mostly left unsaid, but some drums will present a good mystery with what is said.  For my money, solving a good mystery is one of the most rewarding aspects of collecting historical antiques.  This drum is a great example of that as well as the fancy, eloquent style found during the militia period of the late Federal and early Antebellum eras.  Abner Stevens, along with other notable drum makers and craftsman of the time such as the Browns and Porter Blanchard, were well known for their craftsmanship and style in drum building.

Stevens drums are very notable for the ornate tack designs and artistic paintings found on their shells.  Early in 1809, Abner Stevens moved his drum making business from Hancock, MA, to Pittsfield, MA, building his new shop on North Street.  He profited immensely from the business brought to him by the U. S. Government via the War of 1812 as well as the popularity of the new militia movement which resulted mainly due to the effects of the War and continued hostility from Native Peoples.  

The drum shell is made of a single ply of maple that has what appears to be a sponge-applied brown stain that gives the warm appearance of leather.  A thick hand-carved ivory vent hole is the center of an extraordinary paint and tack design consisting of a green, red, and gold painted flower and starburst design with two sizes of brass tacks forming circles and diamonds within a vertical tack border.  The maple counter hoops retain about 90% of the original red-sponged paint.  Small leather ears, ”sash” rope, gut snares, hoops and skins appear to be original or from the Civil War period.  There are three thick, gut snares that are held in place by being tucked under the counter hoops as there is no snare butt, gates, or mechanical snare adjuster present.  

Inside the drum the paper label is in fairly good shape and identifies Abner Stevens, of Pittsfield Mass. as the maker and contains the printed date 1811, as was his practice to date the drums he made.  There is no player identification attached to this drum, but I think the last person to use this instrument was a fairly good player as is indicated by the small, distinct strike pattern in the center of the batter head.  However, there is a “unit” identification.  Written neatly in pen on a small paper label affixed to the original maker’s label is:  “44th. Reg.”  This is one of those mystery clues I often speak of that present more questions than answers.  With no state of origin or any other obvious clues present, it’s hard to know what this means without looking very close and doing a little speculating.

The first and most obvious clue is the fantastic condition of this 200 year old drum that is suggesting use during the Civil War.  The second clue that stands out to me is the regiment number:  44.  Not all states at the time of the War could produce that many regiments, so that should narrow the field.  The third clue that helped was that the drum came from a Connecticut estate, which is in close proximity to the maker’s location.  

I researched the histories of every Civil War unit that held the designation number 44.  That in itself eliminated artillery and cavalry units and most things Confederate.  One regiment stood out to me:  The 44th Mass.  Not only was this regiment from New England, but it only served a nine month enlistment and had a relatively easy time.  The 44th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Infantry, aka New England Guards Regiment, was one of the new militia units raised to fill the quota of Mass. under the call of Aug. 4, 1862, for nine months troops.  They were mustered in and out of the Army at Readville, Ma, enlisting in service from September 12, 1862 to June 18, 1863 with their tour of duty taking place in North Carolina.  The 44th would see action in two minor engagements with Confederate forces which resulted in light casualties, and one retreat.  The remainder of the tour was spent in foraging, garrison duty, serving as provost guard, and destroying Southern fortifications.  Under these circumstances I think that I can speculate that this drum could most definitely have survived a relatively easy nine month enlistment in what was probably the 44th Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Infantry Regiment, aka “44th Reg.”  

Whether or not I’ve been able to uncover the true identity of the “44th. Reg.” and solving this mystery, I think I’ve got a pretty good contender for the title.  Service during the War of 1812 and subsequent militia service is also not out of the question, but purely speculative in nature.  What I do know is that in Abner Stevens I have a great drum with a great history by one of the best drum makers of the 19th century.  During my research I stumbled upon “The History of Pittsfield Mass.  From the year 1800 to 1876,” by J. E. A. Smith.  Smith writes that “Mr. Stevens made a good rattling instrument”……and that “Under the perpetual incitement of the martial music of his own manufacture, he was of course an ardent war Democrat.”   Abner Stevens died on February 6, 1842 in Pittsfield and will be remembered as a great artisan craftsman in the field of drum building.  By virtue of the era in American History that he practiced his craft, most of his drums were made specifically for the armed forces of the day, making them true Drums of WAR! 

From Lancaster County, PA

     Thoughts from the shop…………….

Brian Hill 

brisoundperc@yahoo.com

Rope Drum by W. Braley of Newport, Columbia County, Wisconsin

J. Dexter wrote asking whether anyone has ever heard of this drum maker/retailer: W. Braley of Newport, Columbia County, Wisconsin.

Cooperman Drum, Painted, with Sticks and Sling

Many say that the Cooperman Drum Company's products are excellent.  This 2005 drum with sticks and sling originally sold for $1,208 (including packaging, shipping and handling).  It sold recently on eBay used for $925, the reserve price.  Chances are good that had the reserve been set higher, one or both of the two "must have this" buyers would have gone there.

eBay seller "getmorestuff1909 (1079) had this to say about the drum:

Beautiful Cooperman Rope Tension Civil War Field Snare Drum.  This drum is immaculate in MINT condition.  Looks just like the day it was handcrafted by Cooperman Drum Company in 2005.  This is a 16x16 Ash shell that measures 19 x 16 with the hoops.  Cooperman seal inside the shell, drum #2534 brass plate.  The ears are standard Liberty ears, standard strainer and calf skin heads.  I am a Colonial Williamburg Fife and Drum Alumni and this was my personal drum, but just do not need it any more and want to pass it on.  I was and am attracted to the drum because of the unbelievable eagle artwork on the shell.  It reads "24th Mich. Regt.. U.S. Infantry"  The artist is V. Wilkos. This snare has a beautiful tone, one of the best sounding rope drums I have played, it's all pulled up and ready to go. Civil war style sling and sticks are included. Original receipt in picture #12, originally sold for $1208.00 shipped

CW era non-Contract Eagle Drum

A reader (Todd) writes:

Hi Ellis, 

The drum I have measures about 17 inches in diameter, and 15 inches tall. This drum seems to have quite a bit of design.  There is a large eagle which has "E Pluribus Unum" above it.  Has arrows and olive branch in feet.  Flag on his chest with red stripes. Then also has flag on both sides of large eagle.  One flag shows eagle on half globe with 12 stars or dots around it.  I believe this may be from New York area. The other flag has a dark back ground with nine red stripes.   This drum has gotten dark over the years, I was told if it were professionally cleaned design would stand out more.  Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Belgian Drum?

A reader (Victor Baruzzini of St. Louis) wrote that he inherited this drum and that the tag (written in the 1950's) identifies the drum as an antique Belgian snare drum from the 1800's.

Readers with information or opinions are welcome to comment below or email us at Blogmaster@FieldDrums.com.

See also CW(?) Brass Drumstick Holder and Capped Sticks, this blog, April 15, 2010.

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See a short discussion of the Triumph marching snare drum which bears some similar design features but which is, of course, more modern (ca. 1945).

Transition from Rope to Rod Tension - When Did It Happen?

Angelo Mauceri, Paradiddle58@gmail.com, wrote with this question:

Hi Ellis, Could you please tell me the time period from when rope drums were begun to be over shadowed by tuneable rod tensioned snare drums? Would that time include any of the late Indian war period? Thank you. Angelo Mauceri. Paradiddle58@gmail.com.

I forwarded Angelo's email to a person who has studied the evolution of the American snare drum who wrote back with the following information:

The transition really began in Europe in the mid-19th century, but the first widespread use was with the Prussian army during the Franco-Prussian war and afterwards. In the U.S., the first metal tension drums were actually called “Prussian drums.”

In my research I find this not only incredibly important because of the use of rod-tension drums, but these are also the first time that I find smallish side/snare drums coming into use. I try to draw a line between drums where the shell length is greater than or equal to the diameter and those whose shells [height] are smaller than their diameter -- not a good line, but it was helpful to think about when I was looking at the changing roles of instruments.

The 1880s brought about American companies like Duplex that were making rod drums, and the first experiment in separate-tension drums followed close to that (a logical extension of what rod technology can bring to a drum). Duplex, run by Emile Boulanger, was also the first American firm to make metal shell drums.

[Read more about Duplex drums.]

At almost the same time, Harry Bower in Boston was experimenting with rod tensioning, and went in another direction entirely with shells using a material called ‘leatheroid’ that was all the rage in New England[. Leatheroid] is actually [a] wood/paper mixture.

[Read more about Harry Bower and his innovations and patents on W. Lee Vinson's website.]

[E]arly ‘trap percussion’ sets adopted rod tensioning right from the beginning, as the smaller drums were much easier for the gigging drummer to carry around.

[A] certain amount of the classical music world – concert bands and symphonies – were also using these smaller rod drums. I think specifically at this moment about the Sousa band and the famed “Tom Mills Drum” which is now at the National Music Museum in South Dakota.

[Read more about the Sonor line of drums by Johannes Link (b. 1848 in Bavaria, Germany). Link built a drum factory in Weissenfels, Germany in 1875).]

The Tom Mills drum was purchased by William F. Ludwig from the Sousa drummer, Tom Mills, in the first decade of the twentieth century, but what he found most important about it was that it was a metal shell drum. What is of interest there is that other companies, namely Duplex, were making and selling metal shell drums in the U.S., but they must not have been very widely known because of Ludwig’s comments about the Tom Mills drum (which was a German drum that was imported).

Interestingly, as you surely know, marching ensembles continued to primarily use rope tension drums well into the twentieth century. I think Ludwig was still selling rope drums until the 1950s, mostly marketed as drums for Boy Scouts.

There was also a revival of using rope tension during WWII with the restrictions on metal [embodied in] the 10% rule (only 10% of a musical instrument could be of metal) as well as other experiments.

[Read more about WWII wood drums.]

Historic Images on eBay

The Historic Images Store on eBay has a lot of interesting photos. I searched for "drum" and found these. I bought the first one.