I have a Richard Gareis Bleistadt Boheman trombone. I’m trying to find out some info on it. Does anyone know anything about this?<ATTACHMENT filename="1A29BC15-A293-4ABB-A47A-A0F7B9F42B2A.jpeg" index="0">[attachment=0]1A29BC15-A293-4ABB-A47A-A0F7B9F42B2A.jpeg</ATTACHMENT><ATTACHMENT filename="E53650E5-A5D2-41AA-ADD3-B080E0DFE578.jpeg" index="1">[attachment=1]E53650E5-A5D2-41AA-ADD3-B080E0DFE578.jpeg</ATTACHMENT>

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.

Wow, thank you very much. Greatly appreciated

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.

Now for the real question: how does it play?

And does the dog approve?

Sounds great but badly in need of slide work. The dog is very happy it’s not a Marshall amp <EMOJI seq="1f602" tseq="1f602">😂</EMOJI>

[quote="Calibass"]Sounds great but badly in need of slide work.[/quote]

bad slides are the trademark of old stencil horns on ebay

Thank you for the information. It sounds good but the slide is pretty rough. The dog is glad it’s not my sons Marshall guitar amp <EMOJI seq="1f601" tseq="1f601">😁</EMOJI>