Porter blanchard
Butter Church Maker
Porter Blanchard was born on August 16, 1788 in Amherst, New Hampshire. He was a cabinet maker from 1809 until his death on May 25, 1871. Along with furniture he made butter churns and military drums. Blanchard began his butter churn business in 1818. His sons, George and Charles, joined him in business. They continued the churn business through the 1890s.
In 1849 the “New England Mercantile Union Directory” shows Blanchard under “drums” indicating a business in this type of manufacture at an earlier date.
According to Sherry Gould posting to rootsweb, Porter Blanchard “…furnished drums and fifes for the militia in New Hampshire as found in old record books in the Adjunct General Archives office in Concord, NH from an account book dated July 20, 1835-1836; pg. 89. There were several other entries; I only copied one where he furnished 78 drums at $5.00 each for $390 and 78 fifes at 75 cents each for $58.50.”
15 3/4" diameter by 16 3/4" tall.
The solid maple drum shell is secured with two vertical rows of iron nails, the nails along the outer seam being close together, while the further being spaced apart. This is a unique characteristic of Blanchard labeled drums. The rope is definitely not original to the drum, but a few very old leather braces remain.
1 3/8" tall counter hoops are painted red and drilled for ten holes. These counter hoops have an unusually long scarf joint measuring 14 1/2"! The ends are secured with a single row of four iron nails.
A period ink inscription can be seen on the batter head, not all being legible but a few phrases can be made out.
"April 20, 1841" and "From John Wheeler"
Side drum bearing the label “Drums… Manufactured and for sale by Porter Blanchard Concord, N.H. 1831.” The body of the label is printed, but the date of 1831 is written in manuscript ink.
Like the example above, the plain maple shell is secured with two vertical rows of iron nails, one row being close together, and the other spaced apart.
The shell is most definitely original, but the red counter hoops are somewhat suspect. Having not handled this drum personally, I can not determine if they have been stripped and repainted to look old, or are just modern replacements. My suspicion is that they are modern.
The leather braces are another story, being simply made and looking very aged, they may be original to the drum.
16 ½” diameter by 17 ¼” tall.
Period printed label reads, “Bass & Tenor Drums / Ebony Drum-Sticks / B & C Fifes / Manufactured / and for sale by / Porter Blanchard / Concord, New-Hampshire”.
Again, the maple shell exhibits the same nail pattern as the previous two examples.
This drum was restored with new rope, leather braces, and repainted original hoops by William Reamer of Lancaster, PA, in 200
16 3/4” in diameter by 17 1/4” tall.
The drum shell and red painted counter hoops look to be original. The scarf joint on the top counter hoop is very long, as seen on other Blanchard drums.
New rope, heads, and leather braces have been added more recently.
The interior label reads “Bass & Tenor Drums/ Ebony Drumsticks/ B&C Fifes/ Manufactured/ by/ Porter Blanchard/ Concord, New Hampshire”.
We can also see that Porter Blanchard is offering fifes along with his line of drums.
27 ½” diameter by 26” tall.
Barrel bass drum appears to have a maple drum shell and red painted hoops. It appears that both carry attachments have fallen off the shell. This is evidenced by the two holes with what appear to be circular indents around each.
The red painted counter hoops are drilled for fifteen holes.
A great label reads, "BASS AND TENOR/ DRUMS,/ AND/ EBONY DRUM STICKS,/ MANUFACTURED AND SOLD BY/ PORTER BLANCHARD,/ CONCORD, N. H./ DRUM HEADS, CORDS AND SNARES/ CONSTANTLY ON HAND."
With each label, Blanchard has an increasing amount of music related items for sale, leading us to the conclusion that his business was thriving.
16 1/2" Diameter by 14" Tall Shell
1 9/16" tall by 5/16" Thick Hoops
The drum is made of a maple shell stained to a reddish brown. A single row of iron nails secure the seam and a lead vent insert is the only other form of adornment. The hoops are drilled for eight holes and are painted a dark blue, almost black. Over time, the shell has developed a waviness, which is seen sometimes on shells mad
Almost nothing remained of the snare side skin, except for the remnants of skin tucked around the flesh hoop. The counter hoop was pushed very far onto the shell which can be seen in the image here, causing much discoloration to the shell in that section. Also, the reinforcing rings are visible and secured to the shell with iron nails.
The label is in remarkably good condition, being about 98% intact. All the text is easily legible and consistent with the information seen on other Blanchard labels.
This is the previous drum after my restoration. The client wanted the components to have an antiqued look, which I am no expert on, but gave it my best attempt.
17” Diameter by 13 ¼” Tall
Label reads, “DRUMS!/ of every description manufactured and sold by Porter Blanchard, Concord, N.H. /Drum Sticks, Heads, Cords, Snares, Snare Strainers, Ears &c. of every description/ Drums repaired at short notice.”
Penciled above and below the label “No. 10”.
Written in large letters on the bottom head “H.S. Barney Co. F 15th Reg. N.H.V.”
This drum is markedly similar to the previously mentioned drum in both construction and even color scheme.