I was delighted to see a beautiful 1862 presentation drum by Wm. S. Tompkins fetch $3,000.00 at auction recently on eBay (#150213786096).  In addition to the drum, the buyer (one of group members) will also receive a copy of the National Archives' military and pension records for J.W. Kemp, the person to whom the drum was presented.  Nice deal.

     And, interest at that price level was not limited to the buyer.  Two other bidders bid in excess of $2,500.  Due to eBay's ridiculous practice of masking bidders' names on some of our drum auctions, it is difficult to identify the other bidders. 

     The drum was described as follows:

AUTHENTIC CIVIL WAR SNARE DRUM 14th INDIANA REGIMENT

Authentic Civil War Snare Drum. This drum has a silver-plated presentation shield attached that reads "Presented to J.W. Kemp Principal Musician by the Staff & Commissioned Officers of the 14th Regiment Indiana Volunteers As a mark of their respected esteem February 1862"

The inside contains a paper tag that reads "INDIANA PIANO FORTE Ware Room and Music Store, Willard & Stowell, NO 4 Bates House Indianapolis, IND."

There is additional small type advertising on the tag that is difficult to read. I believe the manufacturer is Wm. S. Thompkins & Sons of Yonkers N.Y., based on almost identical inlaid design seen in "A Pictorial History of Civil War Era Musical Instruments & Military Bands" by Robert Garofalo & Mark Elrod, on page 43 and another example from the National Music Museum as seen at www.usd.edu/smm/ThopkinsDrum.html.

I have conversed with another owner of a similar Thompkins drum [Ellis Mirsky] that has the same red, white and blue rims [See our group's icon photo]. The ropes, leather pulls and calfskin heads have been replaced approximately 25 years ago. Catgut snares and attached leather stops are probably replacements.

The shell is slightly depressed just above the presentation shield and has a smudge and a few light scratches. Just to the left of the center inlaid work is a small ding that broke through the outer shell layer but it doesn't go all the way through. Otherwise the shell is in excellent condition with slight wear. The joint seam is tight and straight. Overall height is 15" and overall diameter is 18".

The gentleman I bought it from was an 80 year old former re-enactor that purchased the drum from a fellow re-enactor at Billie Creek Indiana in about 1975.

The Billie Creek gentleman said when he was a very small child, he played with the drum as his father plowed the field for an old lady who was J. W. Kemp's daughter-in-law. The old lady gave it to the little boy as payment for the father's work. The locale and chronology makes since.

I have obtained the full Military and pension records for J.W. Kemp from the National Archives. The full copies are included in the sale.

     Photos will be posted in our album section under the title, "1862 Wm. S. Tompkins Presentation Drum".

     Congratulations buyer.