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  PAIR OF MAMMOTH, PAINT-DECORATED, AMERICAN LONG DRUMS OF EXQUISITE QUALITY, BOTH PAINTED ALL-THE-WAY AROUND, ONE WITH A DYNAMIC EAGLE & 14 STARS ON A PRUSSIAN BLUE GROUND, THE OTHER WITH A GOLD EAGLE & 16 STARS, IN A BLUE WREATH, ON A YELLOW & ORANGE GRAIN-DECORATED GROUND, BOTH MADE circa 1845 - 1865
Dimensions (inches):
Description:
Long drums are a British form of field bass drum that, instead of being shallow, like the widely recognized, traditional American form, are akin, in shape, to mid-19th century snare drums on steroids. Rare among surviving American military examples, this is especially true among those that are elaborately paint-decorated.

Following is an excerpt from the website of the National Music Museum:

“[The long drum,] a large bass drum, was designed for use by a military band, but was not part of a fife and drum corps, which traditionally used side drums. British long drums (so called because the shell height was taller than the diameter) were played with a solid wooden beater held in one hand and a small stick (British, "switch") held in the other hand. The drummer's music included images of flags pointing either up or down to designate which hand was to be used to play each note. Strong beats were played by the beater, while the weak beats were played with the stick.”*

These were the best two military long drums that I had ever seen in private hands, when I remarkably and purely coincidentally, acquired each of these monumental examples within a week of one-another, from different sources, close to 20 years ago. Both are simply exceptional, each painted all-the-way-around, as opposed to merely having a painted panel that consumes 40% - 60% of the circumference. Both date sometime between the Mexican War (1846-1848) and the Civil War (1861-1865) and each features an impressive federal eagle as its central device. Painted long drums with eagles are so rare that, nearly 20 years later, I have encountered just one other example in private hands of comparable design, though it lacks the feature of having full-circumference decoration. American long drums of the 19th century of any sort are incredibly rare, painted or otherwise.

The slightly larger drum in question here displays a hand-painted eagle on a Prussian blue ground, the color of which indicates that it was almost certainly intended for infantry use. Per U.S. Army regulations of 1851, blue was the specified background color for the drums of an infantry division, though much variation is seen because local and state militias outfitted themselves in mid-19th century America and acquisitions were vastly inconsistent. The fact that there were at least 300 drum makers during the Civil War contributed to the likelihood of variation. The back of this particular drum is striped in oxblood red and black, outlined in gold, while the banded rims are also in the same red. There appear to be two vent holes on this unusual example. The original, rimmed with a bone escutcheon, is decorated with a ring of brass tacks. A second, make-do hole is capped with a tin escutcheon. Unlike the first, this is rather battered with wear. While this appears to be for the purpose of venting, it may actually have been another means of securing the large drum to something, or securing something to it. Whatever the case may be, it is peculiar in my experience and was obviously utilitarian.

The drum's 14 6-pointed stars are arranged in a random scatter above and about the eagle’s head, cradled in the vortex created by up-spread wings. The stars appear in a spoke-like style, akin to the rowels of a spur and similar to those displayed on the flag attributed to the headquarters of George Washington during the American Revolution.

A banner in the eagle’s beak contains the traditional Latin motto, “E Pluribus Unum” (out of many, one), and there are no stars depicted on the federal shield that covers its breast, which bears 14 stripes. The count of both stars and stripes may reflect the impending disunion of Free and Slave States. If so, this would indicate an image derived following the addition of Florida & Texas in 1845, which, for the first and very brief time, balanced the total in favor of the South. The previously-agreed-to addition of Iowa during the Mexican War, on December 28th, 1846, raised the count of Free States to 14. This was followed by the also-previously-agreed-upon addition of Wisconsin, on May 26th, 1848, that purposefully leveled the distribution at 15 for each.

At around this time, as tempers flared and the slavery issue became more and more heated, with the Missouri compromise not allowing for the spread of slavery below 36º 30' latitude, “disunion flags,” as they were called by the press, began to appear that removed the stars of Slave-holding states. This practice continued throughout the Civil War and can be present on other objects.

Note how the eagle’s head faces its talons that grip olive branches (as opposed to arrows) on both drums. While suggestive of peacetime manufacture, this characteristic can be a function of artistic liberty, or simply transposed from a peacetime image to object made during wartime, and applied meanings within this attribute cannot always be surmised. That having been said, the direction of the head of a 19th century federal eagle is always worth examination and consideration within the scope of potentially meaningful characteristics used to determine its date of manufacture.

The slightly smaller drum is the more unusual of the two. Its yellow and orange paint decoration may mimic crotch grain birch or maple, though it is more likely attributable to the sort of folk painting common to rural America in the mid-19th century. This continues all the way around the shell, the seam of which is decoratively reinforced with brass tacks. A large gold eagle, outlined in black, is at the center of a whimsical border of Prussian blue scroll work, while the rims of the drum are painted a beautiful tomato red.

Both this eagle and the one on the blue drum are what one might call war-like, the latter with its beak wide open in mid-cry, and this one notedly stern, with an angrily furrowed brow and its talons raised in defense toward some presumed threat. The count of 16 stars on its federal shield strongly suggests a similar message of disunion to that of the 14 stars on the other drum, in favor of the North. If so, 16 stars for 16 Free States would reflect the period between 1850 - 1858, following the addition of California as a Free State.

Each may be pre-Civil War, with each of the star counts meaningful (and the stripe count on the blue drum) in their anti-slavery symbolism, or each may be of the Civil War period, with the symbolism carried over from earlier drums and/or other objects. Either one or both could pre-date the war, made for militia organizations, then carried into the war when their members enlisted among the hosts of volunteers. The presentation of the eagles tends to suggest pre-war, as do the 14 stars / stripes and the 16 stars, but not so distinctly or definitively as to rule out Civil War period use or manufacture, at a time when demand for drums increased exponentially.

* Source: http://www.usd.edu/smm/Drums/BassDrums/10467/LongDrum.html

Condition: The condition of the paint is outstanding, with only minor imperfections and loss. The surface was certainly cleaned, but expertly, and there is no in-painting whatsoever. The batter heads, flesh hoops, ropes, and lugs (leather tighteners) have been replaced. This is standard, acceptable and expected in early drums. There is no maker’s label inside, but the shadow remains where one was originally present.
   
Primary Color: multi-colored
Earliest Date: 1846
Latest Date: 1865
For Sale Status: Available
Price Please call (717) 676-0545 or (717) 502-1281
E-mail: info@jeffbridgman.com
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