Increase blake
Cabinet and Drum Maker
Increase Blake was born on December 8, 1812 in Farmington, Franklin County, ME. “Was a resident of Falls village of Farmington, ME. He served acceptably as a messenger of the Senate of Maine for several years, and was a captain of the South Company of Infantry in the Militia, and was a citizen much respected for his worth.”
A History of Farmington, Franklin County, Maine, page 389
In the photo to the right, Increase Blake is seen seated on the left, along with his brothers Ebenezer, George, and Freeman. (Photo compliments of William Blake Kutsche)
On September 21, 1844, Blake married Sarai Farnsworth. Together they would have four children. Census records from 1860 and 1870 record Increase as a Cabinet Maker and Retail Furniture Maker. Both professions would certainly provide the skillset needed to manufacture drums. Taking into account the very few examples of drums that exist with Blake's label, it is most likely that he only supplemented his profession with occasionally making drums. And this might have been early in his career, as two of the instruments date to the 1830s.
On July 27, 1886, Increase Blake passed away at the age of 73.
16” diameter by 13 ¾” tall.
Previously part of my personal collection, now in the hands of Brian Hill, this unique drum caught my eye because of the faint red diamond centered around the vent. Upon seeing this, I immediately associated it with the Third Army Corps, First Division. If not aware of what this means, simply put, various shapes and symbols began to be used during the Civil War to ident
When I first received the drum, I noticed that the shell appeared to have been cleaned at some point and time, leaving a faint red diamond and ten five-pointed stars. No restoration was done by me, with the exception of adding three-strand hemp rope.
Label reads, "STATE DRUMS,/ MANUFACTURED BY/ INCREASE BLAKE/ Farmington Falls, Me./ 1839."
The counter hoops, in my opinion, were not original to the drum. Their construction was of much lesser quality and craftsmanship than the maple shell. Also, they do not fit very well on the drum, leading me to believe that they were later replacements. Red paint can be seen underneath the darker black paint, so they may have been repainted as well.
There was some writing/stenciling on the bottom head. The words, "Haverhill, Mass Drum Corps" could be discerned, and other parts of words were too faded to make a reasonable guess.
A thumb-screw strainer was fashioned to the bottom counter hoop with two screws and was in good condition. In this image, new snare gut has been added as well.
The lead vent insert on this drum is also an interesting addition. I am uncertain if that was part of the original configuration, or a later addition since the drum did exhibit some replacement parts and restoration.
Another Blake labeled drum with a date of 1834. No other information is known at the present time.
Maine State Museum
24″ diameter by 13-3/16” tall
Wooden shell with brass and iron tacks. The wood rims are 1-13/16″ wide in their old red paint and have their original ropes with leather tighteners.
The inside of the drum is marked in old ink writing “INCREASE BLAKE/DRUM MAKER/FARMINGTON FALLS/ME”.
To the left we have another image of Increase Blake. "This was taken in a Boston, MA studio between train stops. He was on his way back from Grand Rapids, MI after visiting his son, William Frederick Blake."
Photo courtesy of William Blake Kutsche