Snare drum
Maker
C. G. Conn
Date1904-1915 ca.
Place MadeElkhart, Indiana, United States, North America
ModelOrchestra drum
Serial No.none
SignedShell stamped: MADE BY / C. G. CONN / ELKHART ∙ INDPerforations around shell: C. G. CONN
MarkingsSnare adjusting mechanism marked PAT. MAR. 29. 04 [patent #755,610 by Harry A. Bower, Boston]
DescriptionA notice about Conn's new perforated metal-shell orchestral snare drum appears in the June 9, 1888 issue of _The American Musician_: “[C. G. Conn] has also in his factory a department devoted to the manufacture of the new ‘Conn’ drum with corrugated shell, so that it will not buckle, and each drum also has a new and patented tightener. These drums are having a very large sale, and are highly spoken of.” Priced at $25 for many years, this drum was featured on the company's letterhead and could be found listed in Conn catalogs through the early 1920s.
Orchestra drum with nickel-plated brass, wooden hoops (painted black). Engraved signature, MADE BY / C. G. CONN / ELKHART IND. The company name is also spelled out in perforations around metal shell, C. G. CONN. Two sets of independent snares: one under batter head, one under snare head. Snare adjusting mechanism marked PAT. MAR. 29. 04 (patent #755,610 by Harry A. Bower, Boston) with throw-off mounted under batter head. Twenty, V-shaped steel strainers mounted in center posts (Conn's patent #367,701, August 2, 1887) allow independent straining of each head. Diameter 14-3/4". Depth 5-3/8".
DimensionsShell height (with rims): ranges from 137 mm (5-3/8 in) to 146 mm (5-1/2 in)
Head diameter: 374 mm (14-3/4 in)
ProvenanceArne B. Larson Collection, Vermillion, South Dakota, 1979.
Published ReferencesBanks, Margaret Downie, Elkhart's Brass Roots (Vermillion: Shrine to Music Museum, 1994), p. 32.
Jayson Dobney, Innovations in American Snare Drums 1850-1920, MM Thesis, University of South Dakota, 2003, pp. 137-140.
Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979
Object number02996
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