It's a bear!

Early Olds Super with Bear Counterweight
Bore: .485"-.500" (12.3 mm-12.7 mm)
Bell: 7½" (190.5 mm)

With its patented streamlined braces and "tone control band", the Super tenor trombone is arguably the most recognizable instrument ever produced by F. E. Olds and Son.

But it didn't start that way..

This is an example of the original Super. No streamlined braces, no tone control band, and the engraving doesn't identify it as a Super - it just says "The Olds". With the exception of the bronze bell and nickel silver body, it looks just like a Self Balancing. In fact, Robb Stewart had one of these in his collection for several years and was under the impression that it was just a custom-ordered variant on the Self Balancing. It wasn't until he noticed that it was identical to the Super described in a copy of a mid-1930's (date based on the mention of the original fluted slide design, which was patented in 1935) Olds catalog that he realized what he had. This version is probably the rarest of the production Super variants (as opposed to custom order horns like this).

Although the catalog listing says that they were available in several sizes, this particular horn is in what eventually became the standard Super dimensions. The bell serial is 85xx and the slide serial is 87xx - the slide bore and bell size markings normally seen on Olds horns of this era are notably absent. The inner slide tubes are round, not fluted as seen on later Supers (it's possible that they are not original). Of course, this horn's most distinctive feature is the couterweight - a three-dimensional depiction of the trombone-playing bear logo. Olds used two different bear counterweights; my Radio City has an example of the other one.

Overall View	Engraving	The Bear	Bell Braces and Tning Slide	Horn in Case
	Slide Brace and Cork Barrels	End Bow