Vintage Corner: mid-1950s WFL Keystone pad

This was a lucky score from the nice guys at Drugan’s Drums.

From 1937 to 1955, the Ludwig Drum Company was owned by Conn Music, which also owned the Leedy Drum Company. During this time, William Ludwig was not allowed to use his own name, so he founded a new company called WFL (for his initials). Conn eventually realized it made no sense to manage two drum companies, so for a very brief time in 1950-54 they merged the two and called the restructured company Leedy & Ludwig. This venture was short-lived, though some very nice drum sticks came out of it and are desired by collectors today.

In 1955, Conn sold off Leedy & Ludwig (with all the Ludwig dies and parts going to to William Ludwig, Sr. and the Leedy dies and parts going to HB Slingerland), meaning that William Ludwig could once again make and sell drums using his name.

Through 1958 or 59, Ludwig included WFL branding in its catalogs. They did this to reduce consumer confusion, reassure retailers and sell off any remaining WFL stock in their warehouse.
By 1960, the WFL brand had disappeared from the catalog.

This is a somewhat rare pad from that transitional period. Called the "Light Duty" pad, it featured dark-stained wood and the a keystone-shaped rubber surface nailed on top. Metal hardware was attached underneath for mounting the pad to a stand. Based on the darker staining of the wood (a feature found in some older WFL pads but not in the Ludwig pads that followed) and the font on the decal, my best guess is that this pad was made between 1955 and 1957. In the 1960 catalog it was replaced by a new version of the "Light Duty" pad, a double-platform model painted red and white. In the mid 1960's another version of this pad (with a double platform) featuring clear-coated oak came out, which appeared in catalogs through the 1970s. All three pads bear the red keystone rubber surface. (I've seen a red and white pad in this style that used a leather-rubber composite, but I don't know if that was a one-off. I'd love to try it out.) Thanks to the folks at DrumArchive, I was able to arrive at my best guesses. If you haven't checked out that site, do so! It's a treasure trove of catalog reprints from dozens of drum companies dating back to the 1920s and makes for fascinating reading.

The rubber is still bouncy and has a great feel.