It's a bear!

Circa 1946 LLM-8 Super
Bore: .500"-.522" (12.7 mm-13.3 mm)
Bell: 8" (203.2 mm)

This horn came to me in very roundabout way. Robb Stewart (from whom I purchased my 9"-bell Super with f-attachment) mentioned that he'd seen another "big" Super in the past; a straight tenor belonging to Byron Peebles, former principal trombone with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. At about the same time, Noah Gladstone was selling of some pieces for Mr. Peebles, so I contacted Noah to see if he had any information on the horn. To make a long story short: yes, Byron Peebles still had the horn, but no, it was not on the market. It seems that the horn was originally built for Lorn Steinberger, another former LA Phil principal trombone and one of Mr. Peebles' teachers; it just had too much sentimental value to let it go. I asked Noah to let me know if the horn ever did become available and left it at that.

Fast forward a few months. I got an email from Noah saying that he'd run across another oversize Super; identical to the Peebles/Steinberger horn. This one was (or soon would be) for sale, being part of the estate of one Dr. Stanley Plog, brother of conductor, composer, and trumpet virtuoso Anthony Plog. Dr. Plog was a researcher and consultant for the travel industry, a published author in the fields of travel and social science, and co-founder of a travel information website, but in his younger days had played trombone professionally with Freddie Martin, Horace Heidt, and Fred Waring, as well as serving in the 775th Air Force Band during the Korean War.

This horn is serial number 169xx; probably dating from right after the end of WWII (making it significantly newer than either the Peebles/Steinberger horn or my own 9" Super). It's marked 8 LLM (Large Large Medium. With the exception of the bore sizes and bell diameter, this horn appears identical to the conventional 7½"-belled .485"/.500" bore Super of the time; this is in contrast to the 9"-belled Super, which has much wider handslide and tuning slide crooks and three-piece braces (rather than the trademark one-piece braces).

Overall view	Engraving "Super Olds"	Engraving "Made By..."	Serial Number with Bore and Bell Size Markings
	End Crook	Slide Lock with Mother of Pearl Inlay