Hey 510 I see you have been linking to that music site. They must have a ton of material there. I also can tell you like the old history. It would great for this site if maybe you can transpose that material into a word doc, then I can grab old photos and catalogs and make articles for the stuff. Those .pdf's are not searchable and if I can get the material here it would help the sites and promote the old history. Thanks and please let me know by PM if that is better for you DavidWebmaster

[SIZE="5"]Duplex After-Beat[/SIZE]Drum Is Announcedperfect and steady rhythm and many novelcombinations. The monotonous 'clank' of footcymbals has been eliminated. It's all that youwould want it to be."The extra-fine pedal action makes it sensitiveto the very slightest touch. So little effortis required to operate it that it is necessary tobarely move the foot to obtain a soft 'swish'or 'sweep' after-beat."Can also be played on the beat, eliminatingbass drum altogether, if desired."No practice is necessary to operate it, ifyou can play a Charleston pedal, and mostmodern drummers can do that."The new After-Beat drum is twelve inches indiameter with shell and hoop made of nickelplatedsteel and good quality head, heel guard,patent brush holder to accommodate twobrushes, quick take-down and compact folding.It will retail for $15.Latest Addition to Line of Duplex Mfg. Co.,St. Louis, Is Announced to the Retail TradeST. LOUIS, MO., March 5.—The new DuplexAfter-Beat drum was announced this week tothe music trade in an eight-page two-color advertisingbroadside sent to the trade by theDuplex Mfg. Co., maker of Duplex drums anddrum products, 2815 Henrietta street.It is a unique instrument that is expected tobe greatly in demand by orchestra drummers.It offers an unlimited variety of syncopatedand rhythmical effects heretofore unknown indance drumming.The After-Beat drum is the creation of J. A.Meyer, head of the company, and he tells thestory of it in the circular. Here are his words:"Ever since the advent of making use of theleft foot for after-beat rhythm it has been putto only one use—that of playing cymbals. Theidea of playing after-beats with the foot is indeeda very good one, but playing it with cymbalshas not proven practical owing to thefact that there are only certain passages wherefoot cymbals can be used with good effect. Itis our opinion, and many of the profession haveagreed with us on this point, that After-BeatRhythm should be maintained constantlythroughout the number. If the drummer isobliged to stop using his foot cymbals, andthis has been the case, he immediately takessomething from the rhythm that should bethere."Another objection to the old method has beentoo much cymbals. Cymbals on top of thedrum, side cymbal and foot cymbals. No varietyat all. We all know that top and sidecymbals are a necessity, but it is our contentionthat foot cymbals are superfluous."With the 'Duplex' After-Beat Drum comesa new era in dance drumming. New effects;

So, with that little bit of info you gathered and some more digging. I found this patent, which is very similar and around the same time. It is very likely that the two had something in common or the inventor sold it to Duplex. I did not dig into the patent or do more research, but you can see how puzzles start to fill in. David

JANUARY 23, 1926 THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW – source arcade-museum.comDuplex Drum Go. PlansBig Sales CampaignOld St. Louis Drum House Renews NationalAdvertising Campaign—Introduced SeparateTension DrumST. LOUIS, MO., January 18.—Ambitious plansfor furthering the sale of Duplex drum productsamong the music dealers throughout theUnited States are announced by the DuplexMfg. Co., 2815 Henrietta street. This companyhas been manufacturing the Duplex drum since1883, and Emil Boulanger, founder of the company,introduced the separate tension drum inthat year. This type of drum is now generallyused wherever snare drums are played. Under the management of Mr. Boulanger, thecompany prospered and the sale of Duplexdrums steadily increased year by year. Theseparate tension type of drum greatly increasedthe popularity of drums and drumming, and foryears it was impossible to keep up with the demandfor Duplex drums. Mr. Boulanger died in 1910 and the businesspassed into the hands of his estate. J. A. Meyer,the present head of the company, who hadjoined Mr. Boulanger in 1893, was in charge ofthe factory and the quality of the product wasmaintained, but under the new management theadvertising and sales effort was allowed to relax,with the result that Duplex drums lostmuch of their pre-eminence in the music stores.Mr. Meyer became proprietor of the business in1919, and since that time he has been laboringsteadily to achieve the new prestige of the Duplexname. National advertising has been renewed andmodern catalogs and sales material issued, Mr.Meyer having the able assistance of his son inthis department. Reports from dealers in allparts of the country indicate that the Duplexdrum products are rapidly coming to the forein all sections. The Duplex Mfg. Co. is now making ninetypes of snare drums, five types of bass drums,including bass drums with oil-painted heads andusing the blinker lighting systems, two trapdrum outfits, patented drum and cymbal beaters,pedals, patented thumbscrew bass drum rod,patented snare strainer and muffler and varioustraps and accessories. In addition, the DuplexMfg. Co. catalogs Leedy tympani, Deagan marimbas and xylophones and Ajahi cymbals.

Ca. 1914 THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW – source arcade-museum.comIMPROVEMENT IN SNARE DRUMS.(Special to The Review.)WASHINGTON, D. C, August 8.—Patent No.1,104,373 for a combined snare strainer and mufflerwas last week granted to Julius A. Meyer, St.Louis, Mo., which he has assigned to the DuplexManufacturing Co., same place.The object of the invention is to provide theordinary snare drum with means whereby thesnares or strings generally under tension and bearingagainst the bottom membrane of the drum maybe instantly relaxed or loosened so as to muffle thesound of the drum. A muffled sound is frequentlydesirable and, in fact, necessary, particularly wherea band or orchestra is engaged in playing Indianpieces, funeral dirges and the like, and where thetension on the snares must be momentarily releasedto give the drum a tom-tom effect.A further object is to provide a combined strainerand muffler which will operate without binding asa result of warping of the walls of the drum; onewhich is simple, positive in action, reliable.