In 1948, a female bass player has still been something remarkable. “A lovely California blonde makes a career out of a fat old viol” wrote LIFE magazine (issue July 5, 1948) about former Los Angeles symphony bass player (and part-time Hollywood actor) Helen Perry. Read the complete article and issue at Google books.
If she was 22 years old when this article was published, this year she would be 90 years old or, perhaps, dead.