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1. First Stamp 1920s-1930s2. Trans Stamp 1940s-1950s3. Big Stamp
1950s4. Fifties Stamp 1950s5. Sixties Stamp 1960s6. Thin Stamp
1970s
A. ZILDJIAN CYMBAL STAMP CHRONOLOGY DATE TIMELINE
All Avedis Zildjian cymbals have their name stamped in
itsbronze. But, we have 2 problems. 1. There is no official
trackrecord of the stamps used by Zildjian. And 2. The proces
ofstamping wasn't very accurate and the imprint varies. So, it
isdifficult to exactly determine the period that certain stampswere
used. We know Avedis Zildjian started production in 1929in the
Quincy, Massachusetts USA.
This is a rough guide to help estimate the age of your
cymbal.There is no book, so far, so I took some pictures of my
owncymbals over the years and arranged them in a timeline to mybest
knowledge. I will gladly support any further research.
Old cymbals. In the thirties Zildjian's most popular
cymbalmeasured between 8 and 14 inch, weight paperthin,
easilybendable. Drummers also used small but heavy brass cymbals.In
the fourties Bebop drummers began to use larger rides andsizzle
cymbals. Ride size ranged up to 30 inch and 16 inchHihats are known
from this era. Cymbal weight stepped up withpopular music. In the
fifties and later little inkstamps on oddshaped models say SWISH,
PANG or FLANGED HI-HATS,MEDIUM RIDE etc. Some stories tell about
drumshops stampingcymbals according client preferences.
The first fifty years of A.Zildjian can be divided in 6 types
asseen below. This is also known as the 'pre-ink' period, so
beforemid 1970s when Zildjian started the silkscreen ink stamps
onthe bottom with the open ink-stamp logo.
FIRST STAMP 1929-1939 A.ZILDJIAN
SHOP DRUMSHOW PICS GALLERY LINKS FUN CONTACT
A. Zildjian Cymbal Stamp Timeline
http://www.hidehitters.com/cymbals/Zildjianstamps/timeline.html
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First Stamp 1920s-1930s
12 1/4 inch A. Zildjian paper-thin(353gram) cymbal and came with
a Leedy1937 trapset. Note the "J" in ZILDJIAN, nota half circle
round bottom as in laterstamps.
First Stamp 1920s-1930s
A.Zildjian 8 inch paperthin splash. This isone of the first
stamps. Hard to see in thisphoto is the "genuine turkish
cymbals,made in usa" but it's there, it's a completelogo.
First Stamp 1920s-1930s
Paper-Thin A. Zildjian 12 3/4 inch cymbal,456 gram. Pre-war
cymbals have thestraighter Pre-Round-Bottom "J".After WW2 A.
Zildjian used the RoundBottom "J".
A. Zildjian Cymbal Stamp Timeline
http://www.hidehitters.com/cymbals/Zildjianstamps/timeline.html
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First Stamp 1920s-1930s
Very rare case of a misprint. This picturewas send to me by
email from a fellowZildjian afficionado. More examples ofmistakes
in the stamp department likedouble stamps, even double double
stamps(4) can be found on the internetdrumforums.
First Stamp 1920s-1930s
First Stamp 1920s-1930s
This stamp has the prewar arabic script anda very low 'made in
usa'. This Zildjian logois from a 14 inch (1038 gram) cymbal.
Nicehihat bottom for todays standards, butmaybe a 'ride' in
1941?
A. Zildjian Cymbal Stamp Timeline
http://www.hidehitters.com/cymbals/Zildjianstamps/timeline.html
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TRANS STAMP 1939-1955 A.ZILDJIAN
Trans Stamp 1940s-1950s
This is the second type Zildjian stamp, alsoknown as the
Transition stamp. Thesestamps pressed harder on the outside, the
Zand Co are deeper. This is a smaller logo.Zildjian used these in
the 1940s and '50s.Notice the absence of the 3 dots in theArabic
logo.
Trans Stamp 1940s-1950s
This is the second type Zildjian stamp, alsoknown as the
Transition stamp. Thesestamps pressed harder on the outside, the
Zand Co are deeper. This is a smaller logo.Zildjian used these in
the 1940s and '50s.Notice the absence of the 3 dots in theArabic
logo.
BIG STAMP 1955-1963 A.ZILDJIAN
A. Zildjian Cymbal Stamp Timeline
http://www.hidehitters.com/cymbals/Zildjianstamps/timeline.html
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Big Stamp 1950s
Here we have the hollow-block-letteringZildjian logo as on a
'50s 21 inch med-thinride.
1950s Big Stamp 1950s
Here we have the hollow-block-letteringZildjian logo as on a
'50s 20 inch ride.(2083 gram)
FIFTIES STAMP
A. Zildjian Cymbal Stamp Timeline
http://www.hidehitters.com/cymbals/Zildjianstamps/timeline.html
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SIXTIES STAMP 1960s
1960s logo of a 13 inch hihat top cymbal.
SEVENTIES THIN STAMP 1970s
Thin Stamp 1970s
This stamp was found on a 16 inch SWISHcymbal from the early
1970s. It is called thethin stamp because the font of ZILDJIAN isas
thin as the other letters. The three dotsin the Arabic script are
missing in thisstamp.
A. Zildjian Cymbal Stamp Timeline
http://www.hidehitters.com/cymbals/Zildjianstamps/timeline.html
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Here's another of the 1970s Thin Stamp, it'smissing the Made in
USA or ... Made inCanada?
OTHER A. ZILDJIAN STAMPS
This stamp can be found on Brilliant A.Zildjian cymbals in the
1970s and 1980s.Most of them are a little heavier and had
abrilliant finish.
Click for larger catalog scan
About the A.Zildjian & Cie stamp
The Gretsch Co. distributed K.Zildjians fromTurkey and
A.Zildjians from Rumania in theearly 1900s. After Aram moved to the
USAin 1928 he and Avedis, start the AvedisZildjian company, Gretsch
didn't use the&Cie trademark and Avedis claimed it in1958. A US
court cancelled theA.Zildjian&Cie, Constantinople
trademark,owned by Fred Gretsch Mfg Co, but it tooksome more years
before A.Zildjian couldactually use this stamp on their cymbals
inthe 1970s.
A. Zildjian Cymbal Stamp Timeline
http://www.hidehitters.com/cymbals/Zildjianstamps/timeline.html
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The open ink stamp is found in a midseventies catalog. Zildjian
didn't date theircatalogs at that time.
In the picture: Armand and son RabZildjian. Click for larger
format
Here's a seventies open ink script logo on aK.Zildjian cymbal,
Made in Istanbul, Turkey.Somebody tried to polish it off, but
stillvisible.
Winnie's Drumkit Drumschool & Vintage Drum Collection
Amsterdam www.HideHitters.com
A. Zildjian Cymbal Stamp Timeline
http://www.hidehitters.com/cymbals/Zildjianstamps/timeline.html
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