In another famous episode, “The Young Fans” (Season 1, 2/25/52) where teenagers, Peggy and Arthur have crushes on the Ricardos, Lucy and Ricky take action and dress up as octogenarians. At one point, Lucy hands ‘old Ricky’ a toy drum to show Peggy that he is indeed Ricky Ricardo.
It appears that Lucy actually hands it to him upside down, but that’s how the prop was sitting waiting for her to use.
The toy drum was made by the Ohio Art Company (still in business) and looks to be vintage 1930’s or 1940’s by the artwork.
See Ohio Art Drums on Etsy (US)
The Ohio Art Company was founded in 1908. Based in Bryan, Ohio, the company is known for toys including the Etch A Sketch, and Nanoblock. Their Diversified Products segment makes custom metal lithography products for food containers such as food tins, enclosures, DVD cases, and nostalgic signs.
Credit: Special Thanks to Rick for this post.