Hand-drawn drum design sketch, featuring the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom at center, positioned over a naturally depicted Bengal tiger, the iconic emblem that earned the regiment its nickname, "The Royal Tigers." Surmounted by a flowing swag inscribed "2nd. Bn. The Leicester Regt.," the central design is flanked on either side by lists of the regiment's historic battle honors. Graphite and watercolor on paper, with inked hand stamp and inscribed notations for alterations to the drawing present to the lower right.  20 x 11 1/4 inches.

The sheet serves as an active working drawing from the legendary workshops of Henry Potter & Co., bearing an inked hand stamp of George Potter. Founded in Charing Cross in 1810 by Henry Potter, the eponymous firm established itself as the United Kingdom’s preeminent manufacturer, restorer, and painter of military drums and percussion instruments. While other firms frequently manufactured the metal and structural components of British regimental drums, Henry Potter & Co. was universally renowned for its specialized heraldic paintwork and custom artistry. The hand stamp on this sheet likely represents an inventory or approval mark of George Potter, the founder's son. Accompanying the lot is an original printed business card for the firm.

Raised in 1688 under Colonel Solomon Richards, the 2nd Battalion, Leicester Regiment (formerly known as the Royal Leicestershire Regiment) built a legendary reputation across nearly three centuries of global conflict.

The battle honors framed within this design trace a storied lineage. In the 18th century, the regiment established a massive footprint in North America, achieving a historic victory at the capture of the French fortress of Louisbourg (1758) during the Seven Years' War, before fighting tenaciously across the American Revolution from the early campaigns in New York to the pivotal clashes at Princeton and Yorktown.

Following these Western campaigns, the 2nd Battalion shifted its focus Eastward. Their long, distinguished service in India earned them the right to bear the "Royal Tiger" badge, granted by royal authority in 1825. The 19th-century honors detailed on the sketch evoke a succession of grueling siege and mountain warfare campaigns: storming the formidable fortress of Ghuznee (1839) during the First Anglo-Afghan War, enduring the brutal winter trenches of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) in the Crimea, and returning to the rugged Northwest Frontier to secure the vital gateway of Ali Masjid during the Afghan Campaign of 1878–1879. The dawn of the 20th century saw the regiment deployed to South Africa, where multiple battalions served through the severe hardships of the Second Boer War.

As a working document of the manufacturing process, the lower right quadrant of the sheet features handwritten notations outlining proposed changes for the final production. These include artistic corrections such as,"Tails must come between figures' legs," and a historic textual amendment changing the final campaign designation from "South Africa" to the more specific "Defense of Ladysmith," dating the design to the immediate aftermath of the Boer War, circa 1900–1902.

The lot is further accompanied by an inked card identifying a "Herbert W. Grant / 1877–1951." Unfortunately, military service records for the Royal Leicestershire Regiment do not explicitly record Grant's enlistment, and no direct corporate affiliation exists between the Henry Potter Co. and a Herbert Grant.