LOL! I know what you mean. I've thought like that, too.
Honestly, though. Back then, NOBODY cared whether the shell was mahogany or poplar or maple. It was "wood" or it was "metal". From there, it was up to the marketing cats to put some kind of spin on things.
As you alluded to, years later, these quirky drums have become collectible -another aspect of life that just didn't exist back then. Same thing for Fender guitars and all sorts of old guitar pedals and different things. Nobody, back then, could have imagined there would be the interest there is, today.
But the cool thing is that there IS this collecting "game" going on and it takes on all kinds of rules depending on what facet of the game you happen to be involved with.
For me, it's kind of fun to sift through these quirky examples of Ludwig's manufacturing practices back then and try to come up with something that might be considered (by today's standards) the best example of drum X or kit X. But at the same time, I'm not a "money-is-no-object" sort of collector. Most of my Ludwigs have quirks, too. For example, on my red sparkle drums, the floor toms have the infamous "hump" where the shell was steam bent and scarf-jointed. On my blue sparkle early 70's kit, the seams were lifting -typical for that era.
And, yes, I have shells that are mahogany/poplar/mahogany and shells that are maple/poplar/mahogany and some that are maple/poplar/maple. The only thing I can figure is that they used up whatever they had or whatever they could get a good deal on. Again, drums were just "wood" in most people's minds and the scientific breakdowns and analysis of today didn't apply back then.
While we, today, ogle over the late 60's/early 70's maple/poplar/maple shells with natural interiors and no wrap tucked into the seam, they, too were often quirky -in that, they were slightly over-sized many times and heads didn't "float". But, every now and again, there is one of those "perfect" kits that has all its shiz together! And those are the kinds of "quirks" that shouldn't be quirks...but are! So, when a really perfect kit shows up on the market or at a yard sale (hopefully) of some other odd place, then it becomes that especially-prized example.
In the collecting game, sometimes something that is common and yet, uncommon at the same time seems to be the targets the devotees are shooting for.
Take the Jazzette, for example. It was as available as any other kit that Ludwig offered and yet, Ludwig obviously didn't sell too many of them. So, even though it's common, to find one is uncommon. And, then when you start adding on condition parameters to the equation, to find a really nice one in a mahogany finish is almost unheard of!Mister T Common and yet uncommon. See what I mean?
Here's how it breaks down for me:
Rogers drums were like the slick kid at school who kept his hair combed and whose dad built the family bomb shelter in the back yard!
Gretsch were like the city kid who had a specific accent that was different from anyone else.
Slingerland was the other neighborhood kid from down the street from Ludwig.
But, Ludwig was the kid who snuck out the window at night and skipped school every now and then, got into some scuffles....and got away with it....the lucky kid...and eventually became the king of American drum manufacturing legends.:)
