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Anyone know anything about this horn?
Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 3:21 pm
by Calibass
I have a Richard Gareis Bleistadt Boheman trombone. Iโm trying to find out some info on it. Does anyone know anything about this?
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Re: Anyone know anything about this horn?
Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 5:21 pm
by JohnL
From what I can piece together, Richard Gareis was a violin maker in Olovi (German name Bleistadt) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. That part of what is now the Czech Republic was a major center of instrument manufacture for centuries.
Given that Gareis was a luthier, it's likely that this trombone was a stencil - sold by Gareis (or his successors) under that name, but built by someone else. Looks like a typical Czech stencil to me, although it's interesting to see one stenciled for a Czech seller (most of the ones you find in the US are stenciled for an American seller).
I found this page:
http://bassic-sax.info/pix/index.php?/category/14210
showing a Gareis-marked saxophone that was apparently built by Keilwerth. You'll notice that it's also marked "Bleistadt", but in place of "Bohemia" it says "C. S. R" (Czecho-Slovak Republic?). That makes me think that an instrument marked "Bohemia" probably predates the formation of Czechoslovakia (1918).
Of course, you probably want to know what it's worth. Unfortunately, not a whole lot. Build quality on Czech stencils is usually pretty good, but they're generally smaller bore than is commonly used today.
Re: Anyone know anything about this horn?
Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:48 pm
by Calibass
Wow, thank you very much. Greatly appreciated
Re: Anyone know anything about this horn?
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 6:13 am
by LeTromboniste
From the features, the water key in particular and the styles of ferrules, I would say it's likelier to be 20th century rather than 19th.
Re: Anyone know anything about this horn?
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 6:19 am
by BGuttman
Now for the real question: how does it play?
And does the dog approve?
Re: Anyone know anything about this horn?
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 12:10 pm
by Calibass
Sounds great but badly in need of slide work. The dog is very happy itโs not a Marshall amp

Re: Anyone know anything about this horn?
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 5:51 pm
by Bloo
Calibass wrote: โMon Jul 22, 2019 12:10 pm
Sounds great but badly in need of slide work.
bad slides are the trademark of old stencil horns on ebay