George Way started the Advance drum company, then joined Leedy in 1921. In 1942 he left Leedy and established his own shop selling parts before moving to Slingerland in Chicago 1945. In 1946 he established the Hollywood Drum Shop in California. Hard times saw him move to Elkhart Indiana to once again work for the Conn company, in their Leedy drum division.

In 1952 George was put in charge of merging Leedy and Ludwig & Ludwig into one company known as Leedy & Ludwig. In 1954 Conn decided to get out of the drum business. George solicited investors and formed a corporation named the George Way Drum Company and purchases the factory formerly operated by Conn's Leedy and Ludwig Division located at 225 East Jackson St. in Elkhart. Between 1957 and 1959 Way introduces his famous line of snare drums including the Aristocrat and Spartan model snare drums plus a full ine of toms and bass drums. I have this vintage 1950's Geo. Way Tom Tom that was purchased in South Bend Indiana in 1964 along with a Holiday set of Rogers. Since I have completed the Roger's set, I no longer need this drum. It's in good condition and is complete with all the attachment hardware. The White pearl has fadded over the years but that is expected for this 50 + year old drum. This drum was a prototype for the CAMCO style drums with the single round attachments commonly used from the 1960's on. Seriously this drum would make a great addition to any vintage collector. Make me an offer and it's yours. I stuck it on ebay if anyone is interested or Contact 918 462 7535 or [email]wwalker@tin.it[/email].