1912 George B. Stone & Son Thumbscrew Rod Orchestra Drum

Boston's George B. Stone & Son manufactured a vast number of single tension, thunmbscrew rod drums during the early decades of the 1900s. The paper label inside of this example is date stamped March 1912, roughly a decade before the company reached its zenith.

Of special interest here is the extremely shallow shell measuring only two inces in depth. The rosewood grommet is cleverly recessed into the shell to prevent it from obstructing the flesh hoops as the heads are tightened. An early version of the Stone Patent Snare Strainer and Muffler is stamped with the inventor's name rather than "Stone" which is common on later examples. As is often the case, the original arm has broken off and gone missing. The original 'flexible waterproof woven' snares, however, remain intact. Do you have a Stone & Son drum? I would love to hear from you! Feel free to send Lee an email at lee@vinson.net. And for more on George B. Stone & Son and the other turn of the century Boston-based drum makers, please visit BostonDrumBuilders.com or follow us on Instagram: @old_boston_drums.

1921 Harry A. Bower Drum

Harry Augustus Bower (1866 - 1948) was a prolific theater drummer, Vaudeville performer, xylophone soloist, method book author, teacher and inventor with more than a dozen patents to his name. His most prolific period as a maker was during the late 1910s and early 1920s before relocating to Southern California in 1924. The drum featured here is dated February 14, 1921.

Many of Bower's instruments were eccentric even for their time. In particular, the use of a frame mounted snare system and tubular counterhoops which doubled as flesh hoops were unique to Bower drums. Many variables exist between one Bower drum and the next as the maker was constantly editing and evolving his own inventions. This example is formed around a figured maple shell with metal bands lining the bearing edges. A finely turned rosewood grommet adorns the air vent and an oversized makers label is applied inside of the drum. Most Bower drum shells have no snare beds instead relying on the snare frame to keep the wires in contact with the bottom drum head. In this case, however, the shell has deeply cut beds which dictate that either the strainer or butt must be oriented directly underneath the badge. This must have been intentional on the makers part and probably explains why many Bower drums have conspicuously dented badges where the strainer often rests against the shell when engaged. Do you have a Bower drum? I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to send Lee an email at lee@vinson.net. And for more on the early 20th century snare drum makers of Boston, Massachusetts please visit BostonDrumBuilders.com or follow @old_boston_drums on instagram.

1922 George. B. Stone & Son "All-Weather Drum"

First advertised in 1922 as the "All-Weather Drum", George B. Stone & Son's newly introduced flagship snare drum was renamed the "Master-Model Drum" later that year. Described as a "Combination Dance and Theater Model", the All-Weather Drum was initially offered in only one size, 5 1/4" x 14". The example shown here dating from August of 1922 precedes the adoption of the Master-Model name.

There are several characteristics of the All-Weather Drum which distinguish it from the vast majority of the more than 800 Master-Models produced from the early 1920s through the late 1930s. The earliest shells such as this one are formed from single-ply maple with a series of four reinfircing rings which span the entire depth of the shell. By mid-1923 this design would be supplanted a 3-ply, 5/8" thick maple shell which was used on all Master-Models and Separate Tension Orchestra Drums moving forward.

Geo. B. Stone & Son Advertisement, September 1922

Geo. B. Stone & Son Advertisement, December 1922

Most Stone drums of this era feature a metal badge affixed to the batter side counterhoop. Interestingly, while this drum has a makers label with a strong date stamp and serial number, it has no badge. This is likely because Stone was in the process of changing over from an older version to a newer badge which included lettering noting their recent incopration. Also, the Master-Model specific badges installed on most examples had not yet been introduced. While there are pencil markings present inside of the shell and underneath the counterhoops, they are not consistent with the numbering system later used by Stone to keep track of the total number of Master-Model drums produced. The drum features an elongated, inverted version of William F. McIntosh's Patent Snare Strainer and Muffler which was standard on all Master-Model drums. The butt end seen here is patented design by Charles A. Stromberg which was used on Master-Model drums until about 1925. Do you have a drum made by Geo. B. Stone & Son? I would love to hear about it! Feel free to drop Lee an email at lee@vinson.net. And for more on the early 20th century snare drum makers of Boston, Massachusetts please visit BostonDrumBuilders.com or follow @old_boston_drums on instagram.

Nokes & Nicolai All Metal Drum, ca. late 1910s

Boston's Nokes & Nicolai succeeded the F. E. Dodge Company in 1912 and operated until 1926 when they merged with string instrument maker Joseph Pancheco and the Liberty Rawhide Company of Chicago, Illinois to form the Liberty Musical Instrument Company. Nokes & Nicolai's primary metal shell snare drum offering, the No-Nic All Metal Drum, was introduced sometime in the mid to late 1910s and was produced into the mid 1920s.

No-Nic All Metal Drums are easily recognizable by their 1/8" thick aluminum shells, star shaped vent hole configuration, and logo stamped shell and hoops. Most examples are buffed to a high shine and then lacquered. This particular drum sports a black painted shell and faux gold hardware. Nokes & Nicolai's All Metal Drums, as well as their Separate Tension Orchestra Drums, are tuned by way of twelve separate tension lugs which are adjusted at the side of the drum using a wrench. Stamped metal hooks attach over the counterhoops and hold free-floating swivel nuts into which the tension rods feed. The posts are formed from milled brass and allow the rods to turn freely. Tight fitting stamped metal caps cover the posts providing a more finished appearance while keeping the rods in place when not under tension.

Nokes & Nicolai American Drummer No. 5, ca. 1913

The snare mechanism present here is an evolved version of Dodge's "Combined Snare Strainer and Muffler". The original design (for which a patent was applied but apparently never granted) used a thin lever to engague and disengague the snares. Nokes & Nicolai's updated version used a thin metal tab positioned at the top of the mechanism to switch the snares on and off. Despite evolutions in other areas of drum making, a more modern snare butt never arrived at Nokes & Nicolai. The wires are held in place opposite of the strainer by a simple snare anchor.

Do you have an drum made by Nokes & Nicolai? I would love to see it! Feel free to send Lee an email anytime at lee@vinson.net. And for more on the early 20th century snare drum makers of Boston, Massachusetts please visit BostonDrumBuilders.com or follow @old_boston_drums on instagram.

ca. 1890s Blair & Baldwin Orchestra Drum

Snare drums of the late 1800s were only beginning to evolve towards the more standardized insturments of 20th century. Some of the earliest steps along this path of transformation can bee seen in this circa 1890s drum attributed to Boston's Blair & Baldwin.

Though the makers label has faded to the point it can no longer be read, the lower counterhoop bears Blair & Baldwin's distinctive semicircular snare gate which was used later by their succesor, the F. E. Dodge Company, and Dodge's succesors Nokes & Nicolai. The drum also features a prominent "BB" imprint inside of the shell which presumably stands for "Blair & Baldwin". The drum is formed around a single-ply, birds-eye maple shell with solid reinforcing rings. The shallow shell depth is a subtle forshadowing of the orchestra drums made in Boston during very early 1900s. Tensioning is accomplished via twelve prussian style rods, common in the 1880s and 1890s, and the snares are adjusted using a traditional snare strainer. Do you have a drum made by Blair & Baldwin? I would love to see it! Feel free to drop Lee a note at lee@vinson.net. And for more on the early 20th century snare drum makers of Boston, Massachusetts please visit BostonDrumBuilders.com or follow @old_boston_drums on instagram.