1952 Mendez trumpet models

Rafael Mendez began his association with Olds in the late 1940’s.

Below is an Olds Ad from Down Beat July 15, 1949

The trumpet pictured is a Super Recording. Notice the forward “balanced” position of the valves, and the “tone ring” around the bell.

In this Olds catalog, Mendez is shown with his two sons with what appear to be Super Recording trumpets.

In 1952, Olds introduced the Mendez model trumpet, which was loosely based on Mendez’ Besson trumpet.

Robb Stewart has written about a Mendez prototype trumpet (sn 79490) with some interesting history and details.

As Robb notes in his article, the first production Mendez trumpets were made in 1952. It is believed that Olds made 1,000 of this new model in the 86000 serial number range. There are currently 48 Mendez trumpets that have been recorded in the Olds Register from serial number 86004 to 86999. No other Olds models have been recorded in this range of serial numbers. After this batch of 1,000 Mendez trumpets, the next Mendez trumpet that is recorded in the Olds Register is serial number 127351, that was likely made in late 1954, at least two years after the initial batch of Mendez trumpets and after Olds began the move to a new plant in Fullerton in June 1954. (which was expected to take up to two years to complete, as mentioned in the Fullerton Business and Industry News 8-25-54)

With 1,000 of the new Mendez model being produced at the onset, and data from the Olds Register suggesting that it took more then two years for demand for the new model to catch up, what did Olds do with all this new inventory? Were the new trumpets shipped out to dealers or did Olds warehouse them until orders came in?

I recently came across a Mendez trumpet that is near the end of the initial 1,000 trumpets. It is serial number 86935. It is in very good original condition, with the original case and paperwork.

Additional photos of this trumpet can be seen at this link.

This trumpet has one minor feature that is different from other Mendez trumpets made earlier in the batch. The other Mendez trumpets from this first batch have a threaded lyre that can be inserted into the front bell to leadpipe brace. Presumably since the Mendez model has a spring loaded trigger and no third slide push rod that could be removed to insert a lyre, these Mendez trumpets came with this threaded lyre. But it was not present on later Mendez trumpets.

The Guarantee Certificate for this trumpet lists the Olds Fullerton address.

I looked up other Guarantee Certificates from this era and found that other than two Mendez models from this first batch, all other examples of instruments with 1952 and 1953 serial numbers had Guarantee Certificates with the Los Angeles address.

Serial Number	Model	Presumed Manufacturing Year Based on Serial Number	Address on Guarantee Certificate
84136	Recording Trumpet	1952	Los Angeles
86635	Mendez Trumpet	1952	Fullerton
86935	Mendez Trumpet	1952	Fullerton
88814	Ambassador Trumpet	1953	Los Angeles
90932	Special Cornet	1953	Los Angeles
100219	Special Trumpet	1953	Los Angeles
104370	Super Trumpet	1953	Los Angeles
127774	Recording Trumpet	1954	Fullerton
132951	Super Trumpet	1955	Fullerton

Here are a few of the Guarantee Certificates shown in the table:

The addresses generally line up based on the serial numbers and estimated manufacturing dates, except for the two Mendez trumpets in the latter part of the 86000 serial number range. It would seem likely that Olds ordered a new batch of Guarantee Certificates either shortly before or shortly after the start of production in Fullerton. The wording is identical except for the address.

Why would two Mendez trumpets that were reportedly made in 1952 as part of the first batch of Mendez trumpets have the Fullerton address on the Guarantee Certificates?

Perhaps Olds assigned the block of serial numbers to the Mendez trumpets and prepared valve sets and other manufacturing tasks, but did not complete the assembly of the trumpets until orders were received. The bells are engraved Los Angeles, but there is ample evidence of other models that have engraving that did not match up with the manufacturing location (Super trumpets and cornets had Los Angeles engraved on the tone ring for five years after the move).

Even with Olds increasing production in the early to mid 1950’s, completing a batch of 1,000 instruments of a new model would have impacted their ability to fill other orders. Preparing parts for the batch of 1,000 not completing them all at once, would have made a lot more sense.

When I shared this information with Robb Stewart, he provided this comment:

“To me it makes the most sense that they completed a run of 1000 valve casings, even if they didn’t fit pistons to them at the time.  With the slight difference in production to insert the different inter-valve braces, I can imagine that there is better efficiency and control (less mistakes) by finishing that run and putting them in stock for use when needed.  Unlike the Recording model, the pistons were identical to Ambassador, Super etc., so that production doesn’t have to be controlled separately from those models.” – Robb Stewart

While Olds instruments were well built and many fine examples are still available, the original Guarantee Certificates are much less common, so it is unlikely that many more examples from this first batch of Mendez trumpets will become available.

Better yet, original purchase information occasionally is in the case with a vintage trumpet and finding purchase information from some of these first Mendez trumpets would shed further light on when they were sold.