Considerable interest is often generated by instruments that were owned or manufactured by a well-known individual. Shown here are three snare drums that fall into this category.

Two of the drums were custom built by Billy Gladstone, famous as the drummer/percussionist for Radio City Music Hall and as an inventor. Gladstone personally built about fifty custom snare drums between 1949 and 1960 at the request of various individuals. Both of the Gladstone snare drums feature his patented, three-way lug design, which allows the player to tension the top head alone, the bottom head alone, or both heads simultaneously without removing the drum from its stand. Both also feature a modified internal tone control with nine height levels, a snare throwoff lever that can be operated by striking it with a drumstick, and an adjustment screw for each of the individual snares.

Also shown here is a 'presentation' drum manufactured by Ludwig & Ludwig around 1918. Presentation drums, usually specially manufactured, are instruments given as gifts to mark an occasion.