How To Twirl a Baton

Chicago, IL: Ludwig & Ludwig, 1930. General wear. Inscribed on front cover.. A booklet where "The secret of baton twirling [is] revealed!" The booklet specially gives instructions intended for drum majors, whether they are in a marching band or drill corps. The manual provides instructions on a variety of different moves one can perform with a baton and has step by step diagrams illustrating them. The specific moves described within the booklet are: 'fake' twirl, two finger twirl, four and five finger twirl, two hand twirl, the reverse, around the neck, forward thrust, around the back, right and left side cartwheels, the halt, high throw, two finger spin and high throw, and the hand front spin. Followed by some general advice, such as "when twirling in a spotlight, do not throw up in the air unless you can catch baton without looking up", as well as instructions on twirling contests. It concludes with three excerpts from newspaper articles about baton twirling. Color illustrations of drum majors with their batons front and back interior and exterior covers. Some of the illustrations are images from photographs of real drum majors. Inscribed on front cover by previous owner, E. H. Criswell. 40 pgs. Illustrated wrappers. Staple binding. OCLC 0 (Oct. 2020). Measures 8" x 5 1/2" Ludwig & Ludwig are US manufacturers of various musical instruments, but mostly percussion instruments. The company was established in 1909 by brothers William F. Ludwig Jr. (1879-1973) and Theobald Ludwig (1888-1917). William himself was professional drummer. By 1923 the company had become the largest drum manufacturer in the world. In the late 1920s the company was sold to C. G. Conn. but was latter bought back by Ludwig (who has started a rival drum company by that point) to create the Ludwig Drum Company. In 2002 the company merged with Conn-Selmer, and the Ludwig brand is still in existence today under that name. Ludwig drums have been played by numerous famous drummers, such as Ringo Star (Beatles) , John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Cindy Blackman (Lenny Kravitz) and Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac).