[Feynman, Richard P.]

During a sabbatical from 1951-1952 Richard Feynman decided to trade the grey and snowy winters of upstate New York where he was teaching at Cornell University for the sunnier and warmer climes of Brazil. He had spent the July of 1949 in Rio de Janeiro and later while teaching at the Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas on his sabbatical, Feynman became entranced by the sounds and rhythms of samba, learning to play the frigideira and later, the conga drums, a mainstay in Afro-Cuban, Latin, and South American music since the late 19th-century. Samba so impressed Feynman that he went on to even participate in a samba competition during the Carnival in Rio, an experience he recounts in "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" In addition to his beloved bongo drums, his conga drums would make frequent cameos in the photographic archives of Caltech where a grinning, suited-up Feynman could be seen boyishly posing around his beloved percussive instruments.

Congas consist of three drums, the quinto or lead drum, the tres dos or tres golpes or middle. and the tumba or salidor, the lowest. Given the size of the drumheads in the current lot (10.5 inches and 9.5 inches, respectively), these drums could be classified as quintos and a requinto. The larger two are equipped with a custom stand and the third can be played between the drummers legs, a position often favored by Feynman when demonstrating his technique.

Gon Bops of California, who manufactured and crafted the drums comprising the current lot, was one of the most celebrated conga and bongo builders in the global percussion industry. Founded in California in 1954 by Mariano Bobadilla, a Mexican-American trumpet player, Gon Bops takes it name from "Gon" as in "everything is gone, man" and "Bops," after Bob, the nickname Bobadilla's friends had bestowed upon him which sounded similar to the 'bop' in the Latino dialect, according to the Gon Bops website. Despite changing hands - Gon Bops was first acquired by the drum manufacturers DW and later the famous SABIAN cymbal-makers - Gon Bops remains a titan in the field of Latin instruments and a highly respected name to percussionists all over the world.  

Although his drumming would become one of the more 'atypical' and 'curious' pursuits Feynman would be known for, he took his love of music - like his love of almost anything that captured his time and attention - quite seriously and didn't suffer ridicule from his peers who questioned how such a revered scientist could 'waste his time with the bongo drums,' etc. 

To own a drum, much less a set of three, that belonged to Richard Feynman is to own a piece of history and personal passion from a man who so ignited the imaginations of science lovers of all types and persuasions from the midcentury to the present day.