A friend's wife was helping an elderly woman transition to an assisted living facility and was given this drum. The woman said it belonged to her father and she remembered him playing it in the early forties. My friend didn't want it so I bought it from him. It is made especially for the Marvel strainer, which was Leedy's first attempt at a Parallel system and was only made for 2 years or so (1924-26?).
The common problem (I have read) was that the snare stand baskets of the time were too shallow to accommodate the protruding snare system. It is all original down to the last washer and the NOB brass shell has no dents. The hoops are steel and show a bit of degradation in the nickel plating. It is interesting to note that there is no snare gate on the bottom rim as the parallel system didn't extend off the head. After about three weeks of cleaning and polishing in my spare time, I reached a point where I felt I could display it for you guys.
Obviously. I am now in the market for the strainer, so if you guys have any leads, I would be appreciative.
Here are some before and afters:
