American Bass Drum: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This bass drum was made by an unknown maker in the United States, around 1855-1860. It has a light brown varnished wood shell, two black-painted wood hoops, two skin heads, and 17 metal hooks laced with rope through leather ears, used to tighten the hoops. According to the donor, this drum was used by his grandfather, Levi Koile, during the Civil War.

Levi C. Koile (1843-1925) is listed in the U.S., Adjutant General Military Records, 1631-1976: List of Ex Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, Living in Iowa as serving in the Iowa 23rd Infantry, Company A, as a private.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1855 - 1860
• Object Name: drum
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Physical Description: leather (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 14 in x 30 1/2 in x 30 1/2 in; 35.56 cm x 77.47 cm x 77.47 cm
• place made: United States
• ID Number: MI.066659
• accession number: 233580
• catalog number: 66659
• Credit Line: Gift of Byrl R. Koile
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.