Although Mapex (Music And Percussion EXcellence) was founded in 1989, this is the earliest catalogue available. 

Pre-Black Panther, the top-end snares fall under the Orion Branding - Orion Custom for Maple and Orion Studio for Birch. 

Brass was introduced as a shell material for the first time. Still Pre-Black Panther, the Orion branding for the snare range was dropped in favour of the more familiar titles of "Maple Deluxe", "Brass Master" etc across the range. There's no differentiation in quality evident from the catalogue - all the snares seemed to be created equal.  

The year Mapex released the seamless brass Carmine Appice signature snare at the Winter NAMM show. Only 175 of these were made and they are now incredibly difficult to find. 

This is basically Year Zero for Black Panthers, with Mapex throwing the kitchen sink at the new range; there are 40 models in every conceivable size and shell construction. Their advertising was straight to point on the colours available though, with them paraphrasing Henry Ford's line, "You can have any colour as long as it's black." 

This is the year we saw the Precious Metal Series appear for the first time, although this was initially separate from the Black Panther branding. There's also the addition of the little 10"x5.5" Flat Black Traditional Maple to the range.

The turn of the Millenium saw the "Deluxe/Master" naming convention dropped in favour of simply Maple, Birdseye Maple, Steel etc, along with the introduction of the "Detail” Black Panther badge. 

The Deep Forest kit range appears for the first time, bringing with it the first four models of Deep Forest snares. These snares weren't originally included in the main snare range, only as components on Deep Forest kits. 

Forget "The Year of the Horse" - this should really be called "The Year of the Unicorn". It's the time when the two legendary (and hernia inducing!) Solid Bronze models show up as part of the Precious Metal range. It's also the year three new hammered ranges appear - Steel, Brass and Phosphor Bronze. 

This is where the range finally settles down and all the top end snares are brought under the Black Panther umbrella, with Premium Series / Precious Metal / Hammered / Deep Forest sub-branding. The catalogue specifically mentions the drums being made in China for the first time and the badges from this time on say "Made in China"

The Natural Maple (Wax Natural) series joins the Black Panther range. Also there's the addition of the 13"x3.5" Steel, 14"x6.5" Deep Forest Walnut (Chrome Hardware), the 13"x5.5" Premium Brass (Chrome Hardware), and the first of the three special stainless steel editions to be released in consecutive years - the Babylonian.

Same basic range and badges as 2004-5, with the additional the second of the three stainless steel special editions - the Tribal. 

After three years the Black Panther family gets quite a big refresh, with the introduction of several new lines and changes to the available shell sizes and finish of some existing ones. The Seamless Solid Steel appears for the first time, the Blonde Birdseye Maple for the only time, and the third of the stainless steel special editions arrives - the Kung Fu. 

Pretty much the same as the 2007 range, with the exception of the unique appearances of the Thick Flamed Maple and the 13"x6" Cherry & Maple model that was given away with certain Pro M kits in 2008. The 14"x5.5" Zebrawood appears in the Brazilian Catalogue.

The basic range is roughly the same as 2007/2008, but with the additional of a few special edition models;The Memphis, Chris Adler Signature, Special Edition Elm, the Thick Maple and the Mayan. Also the Deep Forest Cherry series is trimmed down to just the 14"x5.5".

The year everything changed. Gone are Low-Mass Oval lugs, Orion throw-offs, Die Cast and Power hoops and series with multiple sizes named by shell type. In come Sculpted Shield and High Tension Tube lugs, Cylinder Drive throw-offs, Sonic Saver hoops and individually named models.

Black Panther...no longer just snare drums. With that exception, the snare range is exactly the same as 2010.

This is the year the main Mapex logo changed to the new "M" Type. As a result, the Black Panther badge changed to the New Logo Tall Rectangle at one point, but it's not reflected in the catalogue shots yet.

The Panther disappears...to be replaced by the Nomad. With those exceptions, there are no substantial changes from the 2010-2012 range.

No changes at all were made to the range in 2014, at least in the west. There's a new limited edition in Japan (the Natural Hybrid BPWA455SNL) but nothing else of note.

After a bit of a quiet period for the range, three new signature lines join the party - The Versatus, The Wraith and the Warbird. The core Black Panther range stays the same as before.

No catalogues but there's at least one special edition release this year...

Welcome to the Design Lab! Four new models emerge from this new Black Panther range: the Heartbreaker, the Equinox and two sizes of the updated Cherry Bomb. 

30th Anniversary celebrations...and a new snare! To celebrate Mapex's third decade, the limited edition Modern Classic was added to the range. 

A whole new world! In the first total fresh for a decade, 19 new models were introduced, including 5 signature lines from the Black Panther Design Lab Artist series that feature the new Locking I lugs. 

A sad entry this. Ralph Peterson, the longest-running artist endorser in the history of Mapex, passed away in March 2021. Two weeks before this however, he had signed off the specs on what was to become his signature snare - The Onyx. 

In Spring 2022, the European Special Edition 14" X 5.5" Transparent Black Maple Special Edition was released. This echoes the aesthetic of the Black Widow, albeit with a different throw-off and depth.