DRUM COLORS by Rob Cook 8.5x11, 70 pages $15.00

Features: Camco, Fibes, Gretsch, Leedy, Ludwig, Rogers, Slingerland

This book is meant to give an overview of the drum finishes produced by the American drum companies from around 1920 through the late 1970s, Until 1924 most drum companies produced pretty much the same finishes; walnut, mahogany, maple, and a few lacquer finishes. In 1924 George Way of the Leedy Drum Company sold the first drum covered with Pyralin, or “pearl”, which had previously been used as a decorative covering on items such as toilet seats. (Way sold the first pearl-covered drums to Chauncey Morehouse who was one ot the country;s top drummers, playing at the time with the Jean Goldkette Band at the Greystone Ballroonm in Detroit. Leedy had an agreement with the manufacturer of the material (DuPont) that it would not be sold to any other drum companies for ten years. By 1928, however, most of the big companies were shipping pearl-covered drums. From the start, every company supplied what is known today as “White Marine Pearl”. The next most common color was Black Diamond Pearl, then the basic sparkle finishes. Each era saw a number of finishes which did not catch on and were discontinued, making them today’s collectables.

The original version of Drum Colors was published by Rebeats in 1996 and was 36 pages. This expanded and updated version is 70 pages and includes the "finish options" sections of the Gretsch, Ludwig, Rogers, Leedy, and Slingerland books by Rob Cook.