old Leedy?

[bigdrummy47]

I have no experience with vintage drums and would appreciate any help I can get. I recently acquired what looks like an early Leedy snare. No badge, of course, but the top head is Leedy & Ludwig (lamb skin, I guess, because there's a sheep's head by the logo). That didn't start until 1951 under Conn, right? The drum definitely appears older. Were they still producing these in the '50s? And with that hardware? Also, there is the # "846" penciled on one of the reinforcement rings. The shell is 1-ply (vertical grain) plus reinforcement rings. Also, it seems I'm missing the butt for the snare strands. And what's the deal with the leather piece with holes in it tied onto one end of the snares? And the snares themselves can't be too terribly old. If this really is an older drum, I'd expect gut strands. Oh, and the shell is around 14.25". What am I gonna do about a bottom head, here? Picture quality is lacking...sorry...and I can't get the other shell pic to upload. It's 3" deep. Somebody help me. Thank you.

[Webmaster]

I have seen a lot of these types of snares on Ebay with the wood hoops and single tension rods and hoop clips. The wires are usually gut, originally, so the set pictured is a newer replacement.

I think these were Junior snare drums and made in the 20's, 30's and the 40's but I do not see them in the 50's catalog although they might have still had them.

It looks like the strainer is attached to the hoop and the leather piece should be the butt side.

I will try and get you pictures to help you figure it out

David
Webmaster