Drummer's Throne Case, used by Buddy Rich: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This case was made by an unknown maker in the United States, early 1980s. It is made of fiberboard, with a plastic handle, and reinforced at the edges with duct tape. It is for a drummer’s throne (Cat. 1988.0665.16).

This drummer’s throne case is from a drumset used by Buddy Rich in 1983-1987.

Bernard "Buddy" Rich (1917-1987) began his professional career as a drummer, tap dancer, and singer with his parents' vaudeville act before the age of two. By the time he was six, "Traps, the Boy Wonder," had performed on Broadway and toured the United States and Australia.

With the demise of the vaudeville circuit and the popularity of the swing era, Buddy became an orchestra musician. His talents as a drummer landed him a job offer with Joe Marsala's band at the Hickory House in New York City in 1937. This led to a long line of high-profile performances with Bunny Berrigan, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, and Benny Carter. Buddy's playing style was characterized by phenomenal speed, four-way independence, and an uncanny way of driving a big band.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: early 1980s
• Object Name: case
• Physical Description: fiberboard (overall material)
• Physical Description: plastic (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Physical Description: duct tape (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 26 3/4 in x 19 in; 67.945 cm x 48.26 cm
• place made: United States
• ID Number: 1988.0665.16.01
• catalog number: 1988.0665.16.01
• accession number: 1988.0665
• Credit Line: Gift of Cathy and Marie Rich
• 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.