Small Logo
It's a bear!

Olds-Related Documents


City Directory Listings
Olds and the Olds family
Other people involved with trombone-making in Los Angeles

Olds Advertisment: Hollywood Bowl features Olds
(large file)
My copy of this ad is undated, but I have seen a copy dated from December, 1941. It features Lorn Steinberger, one-time principal trombone with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The horn he is holding has the characteristic one-piece streamlined Super braces, but (judging by the proportions), the bell is larger than the 7" or 7½" normally found on Supers (though not as large as the  9" belled Super in my collection). I believe this same horn is now owned by one of Mr. Steinberger's former students; it has an 8" bell and the dual-bore slide measures roughly .500"/.522"; I have a twin of the Steinberger horn in my collection.

Olds Advertisment: a Tribute to Olds... "the man who makes the World's Best Trombones"
(large file)
This ad is from the February, 1941 issue of Metronome magazine and features a gallery of well-known trombonists (all Olds players, of course) of the day. One of the artists pictured (Hy Lammers, "Teacher of Stars") is shown holding a double-rotor bass trombone similar to this one in my collection.

Olds Advertisment: USMC Band Pearl Harbor... "We're proud of our OLDS section"
(large file)
This ad is from the July, 1941 issue of Metronome magazine and includes a reproduction of an "unsoliticed testimonial" from the US Marine Corps post band at Pearl Harbor.

Late Los Angeles Olds Catalog
This is a full catalog of Olds offerings. It doesn't carry a date, but various clues indicate it was printed sometime around 1950.

A Guide to Bass Trombone Playing by Hugh E. McMillen (circa 1953)
A twenty-page booklet providing an introduction to the bass trombone, including a short section on "The Bb, F, and E Bass Trombone". At the time, Mr. McMillen was an Associate Professor and the Director of Bands at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The text mentions that the author holding the office of vice president of the College Band Directors National Association. This gives us a pretty good idea of when the booklet was written, as, according the program for the 1958 CBDNA National Conference, he held that postion for the 1952-1954 term and the served as president of the CBDNA for the 1954-1956 term.

Circa 1961 Olds Catalog

(large file)
The date is approximate, based on comparisons to the 1962 catalog, below, and the 1960 Olds price list on Alan Rouse's Olds Central site.

1962 Olds Catalog
(large file)
Date based on an identical partial catalog on Alan Rouse's Olds Central site.

1966 Olds Catalog
(large file)
Dated by copyright on back cover. Some pages missing.

Olds Advertisment: Let George do it!
(large file)
This ad is from the September, 1966 issue of Downbeat magazine. It features George Roberts and the Olds bass trombone bearing his name. As with most ads, it's long on gush and short on hard facts, but it does describe the horn as being "Made of extremely thin nickel silver with a spun Re-O-Loy 10-inch bell section...". Those familiar with Olds products will remember that "Re-O-Loy" was also used in the bell of Recording model instruments. The mention of a 10" bell is somewhat curious, as the few GR models I have seen all had 9" bells.

Circa 1967 Olds Catalog
(large file)
Date based on comparison to the 1966 catalog, above.

1970 Olds Bugle Catalog
(large file)
Dated by copyright on back cover.

1970 Olds Trombone Brochure
Dated by copyright.

1973 Olds Catalog
Dated by copyright.

1974 Olds Price List
Dated by copyright and effective date in document.

"Facts About The P-24G Bass Trombone (With Optional Eb/D Tuning Slide)"
This copyright 1976 introductory pamphlet was included with the P-24G bass trombone I purchased new from Castle Music in San Luis Obispo, California in early 1981. If the cover photo looks a little off, that's because the horn was assembled backwards (i.e., left-handed)  and then the negative was flipped to put the slide in the proper orientation. I've often wondered how that P-24G ended up in the display case of a music store in a small town like San Luis Obispo.