1950s Leedy & Ludwig 14x11 Field Snare Drum

I generally don't buy drums anymore, but this one walked into the store with its original case, marching strap, and mix of sticks. I couldn't resist.

It's a Leedy & Luwdig field snare from the early to mid '50s and has a maple rim and tension hoops with mahogany veneer on the shell itself. It appears to be all-original and is in excellent shape (with average pitting on the hooks) save a torn snare-side head that's been clumsily-patched with tape. It has a 14" diameter and the height of the shell itself is roughly ~11" or just a hair under that.

Its sound is -- as you'd expect -- woody, fuller, and on the darker/boomier side. The old wire-wrapped snares definitely give that vintage, rumbly marching sound.

How about the grained print on the backside of that beater?

This is a single-tension drum and cranking on the key adjusts both heads.

The snare tension is adjusted via a thumbscrew.

Here's the damaged area on the snare side. While the drum works as-is, it'd be better to have a new head on there.

Here's a shot through the hazy snare-side head of the print on the interior of the rim.

The original chip case comes with it. The "dots" on it are paint droplets. It's in good shape but the leather latches that would've snapped on to hold the lid securely are broken.

Three Pro-Mark 7A hickory sticks come with it as well as the original marching strap (in good shape but definitely aged). The two remaining sticks are hollow and were perhaps used to hold wire brushes at some point. They give a neat sound on their own, though, and maybe were used that way for a while judging by the wear at their edges.