This is a really interesting topic and one that vexes me frequently. When to preserve, conserve or restore and also how far to restore?

I haven't seen this addressed yet:

Wasn't this drum once wrapped?

I am almost positive this drum started life as a natural finish maple shell.I could be wrong but see no evidence of a wrap. just 'patina'Kleening

A nice old drum! To me......I could leave it as it....maybe wipe it off...or....clean it up too maybe. But, it looks beautiful as is.

It looks to me that the drum was wrapped. Or possibly lacquered and stripped. This is from the uniform lack of clear finish apparent. If it was a natural drum, then there would be some of the original clear present- definitely under the lugs. The random staining to me says that the drum has a black lacquer or duco that was stripped and "refinished" natural (no finish applied). I'm no Leedy expert, but I've never seen a natural drum from that era. All of the Ludwig and Slingerland drums I've seen in their original state have been wrapped or color lacquered (duco or solid). The only ones where they are "natural" is where the original finish has been removed. There might be a stamp inside the drum showing what finish was on it originally (i.e. a "P" stamp for a wrap).

If it were my drum, I would remove and clean all of the hardware. It should be nickel if it is a prewar drum, so polish it up. It will still have some "patina" on it due to age. Then, if you like the natural look, I'd lightly sand the surface to get the surface crud off, then oil it to re-hydrate the shell, then put a clear coat (satin/semi gloss/gloss) on it to protect it. Otherwise, I would research the available finishes and either stain or wrap the finish as close to original, or to what I'd like. Maybe a black lacquer? WMP wrap? Just no satin flame....