Chinese tom-toms

Etymology and Alternative Spellings

German: Tom-tom, chinesisch
Italian: tom tom cinese
French: tom-tom chinois

Construction

Chinese Tom Toms consist of hand-painted and lacquered wood shell, iron handle and tacks, two hide drum heads painted with stunning stylized dragons.

History

The form of the Chinese tom is usually a shallow or large individual double-skin barrel-shaped drum with membranes nailed to the drum. The kit shown in the slide is an early 20th-century Vaudeville outfit from Southern California with four Chinese toms of different size (10”, 12” 14” and 16”), along with a set of five Chinese temple blocks. Unlike some Chinese toms that are brightly painted in red with head decoration, with this set of circa 1900–1928 “[t]he graduated Chinese tom toms are painted black to blend into the darkness of the orchestra pit”

Manufacturers

Weiss

See Also

Tom Tom