Founders Page

This page honors William F. Ludwig I, his brother Theobald and William F Ludwig II.  These principals founded and nurtured the fledgling drum company through many difficult years.  The company that was destined to become the 'Most Famous (and beloved) Name on Drums'.  William F. Ludwig II began working with his father in the late 1930s handling the much needed advertising and marketing.  He assumed more and more responsibility in the company with each passing year until eventually he was running the whole operation.

Many people know something of William F. Ludwig I and II but few know that the original drum company Ludwig & Ludwig was co-founded by the brother Theobald.  We intend to uncover a bit of his history on these pages as well.

To get things started and since I'm a bit short on time today to tell the whole William F Ludwig I story, I have provided the entire publication 'My Life at the Drums' by William F Ludwig I.  It is his story in his own words so please click the link below to check it out.  I apologize for the quality of the scans.  I had to compress them quite a bit to keep the size down and it does affect the quality.  Hopefully you will still find it quite readable.  The documents below are stored as Adobe Acrobat PDF files.  If you have Acrobat you can view them right in your browser.  If you don't have Acrobat Reader you can download Version 5 for free from www.adobe.com.

'My Life at the Drums Part 1'  by William F Ludwig I

'My Life at the Drums Part 2'  by William F Ludwig I

It is my intention to also add some excerpts from Bill Ludwig's (William F. Ludwig II ) recent book entitled 'The Making of a Drum Company'.  It's great reading!  I just finished it and I enjoyed every minute of it.  It provides an inside view of the factory, the Ludwig family, the trials and tribulations of a small company, the endorsers and all of the magic of those great 60's years.  The book is spiced with loads of pictures and the author's sense of humor makes for very easy and enjoyable reading.  I've included links where you can buy the book on our home page.  The price is very reasonable.  Check it out!