Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Illustration of Drum Major Uniform
1920-60
Maker not researched
USA: Michigan, Kalamazoo
Pen and Ink on Cardboard
overall: 22 1/2 x 10 in.; 57.15 x 25.4 cm
Gift of Ihling Bros. Everard Co.
98.041.201

Illustration of Drum Major Uniform; pen and ink illustration on cardboard; face is photographic cut-out; figure stands facing proper right holding baton in right hands, left hand thumb in belt; man wears high busby, brimmed, single plumbed with front tassel, chin strap and side flap hat; coat is thighI ength, white with elaborate trimed grey front, tasseled epauletts, two braided right shoulder cords hang from left breast; dark gray pants with stripes.

In designing this drum major’s outfit, Ihling Bros. Everard Company looked to military uniforms from the 1800s. The model’s coat has an elaborately trimmed front, tasseled epaulettes, braided shoulder cords, and pants with stripes down the sides, as would have been seen in miliary uniforms. A notation on the left margin of the drawing supplies information about the process of illustrating and printing catalogs. The drum major was drawn at 22.5 inches tall, but the note “2” high” clarifies the actual size at which the figure would be rendered in the final product. Illustrating the uniform at eleven times its original size helped ensure details would be presented clearly in the catalog.