Vintage Leedy Duco Finish Drums 1940's

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

This is athree piece Leedy kit with a blue and silver duco finish from the 1940's. Each of the drums I’m selling has the same duco finish though the silver on the tom has yellowed more than the other drums. They were purchased together in 1942 or 1943 but the hardware is slightly different on each drum (not uncommon for this time period). There are a few nicks and scratches to the finish on each drum, as you would expect with a kit of this vintage, and I’ve done my best to show the condition of the finish and the hardware in the photos. I assume these drums are made from maple by the look of the interior of the drums but I can't be sure because of their age. Each drum has reinforcement hoops and the seams and bearing edges are in good shape. The bass drum is a 28” x 14” Spartan model with twelve single tension lugs and the original calf skin heads (both heads have a Leedy stamp) and the original clamp on spurs. One head has a bit of adhesive residue, not sure if that can be removed, but the heads are in good shape for their age. There is a bit of rust on the wing screws/clamps for the spurs but the rods are in great shape. The lugs, tension rods, and claw hooks are nickel plated and show some rust, a good cleaning would help, but the drum is complete and in good shape for its age. There are three dates stamped on the inside of the shell, 41 6, 41722, and 4203. I assume each date is from some point in the manufacture of the drum (possibly June 1941 for the construction of the shell and March 1942 for final assembly, I'm not sure what the July 1941 date would be (maybe applying the finish). Sparkle inlay on hoops is in good condition, slightly discolored (champagne colored) but sparkles and fits tight. There are a few nicks to the hoops that could be covered with black paint. The snare drum is a 14” x 6-1/2” Utility Model with six nickel plated tube lugs. There are two dates stamped on the inside of the shell, 4111 and 4203, I assume November 1941 was the date when the shell was manufactured and March 1942 was the final assembly date for the drum. The claw hooks, lugs, tension rods, and butt plate are all original but the strainer has been replaced with a standard Ludwig strainer, resulting in two additional holes in the shell. I have a part of the original three point strainer, which is included in the auction, only the lower attachment and lever are missing. The hardware inside the drum (screws and washers) are almost entirely original. The original tension rods and washers show some rust (mostly on the threads) but would clean up nicely. There is no badge on this drum but the top rim is stamped “Leedy Utility Model.” The rims are slightly out of round (bottom rim more than the top) but both fit well under tension. When I purchased this kit about ten years ago I planned to replate all of the hardware and actually purchased new chrome finished single flange rims, claw hooks, and tension rods for the snare (all Pearl parts). I’m including those parts with this auction and there are pictures of the snare with the original hardware as well as the replacement hardware. The included heads are a Remo Renaissance Ambassador batter and a Remo Ambassador Hazy snare side. The tom measures 11” x 7” with ten cascade lugs (five per side), single flanged chrome hoops and nickel claws. Nine of the lugs are nickel plated and one is chrome. The shell is slightly out of round but heads still fit and it tunes fine, the manufacture date stamped on the inside is 5 40 (May 1940). The interior hardware is about half original and half new. Two internal muffles are included but only one is attached, it looks as though someone tried to repair the second one and you may need to replace a screw or retap the knob. The felts are missing from both muffles but could easily be replaced. The drum comes with an attached adjustable clamp to attach the tom to the hoop of the bass drum and a drum key holder. Four of the claw hooks from this drum are missing and one of the included claws is broken but they could e... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.