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History:
This beautiful cabinet was born in 1941 as the 1942 model of the Philco 42-400X Radio. The largest radio in the 1942 lineup, it had four-band coverage and used 11 tubes.
How I Received It:
This cabinet was in very rough shape when I acquired it. In fact, it was very nearly falling apart. After some help from a woodworking friend and some bracing on my part, she was resuscitated and brought back from the near dead! I went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth ... as to refinish it or try to restore the finish. Either way, it was going to be a significant challenge. Missing veneer, scratches, scrapes, water marks, tape, this lady had seen some tough times. (Check out the nailed Service Card on the back with its 5 digit phone number!)
Modifications Made (in short):
· Cabinet Exterior: Other than its front left foot where I had to add some supporting wood, EVERYTHING IS ORIGINAL! Refurbished the original finish! There are some nicks on all surfaces and some missing finish on the speaker fins but, I view them as character marks. There is an entire marketplace full of items that have been "relic'ed" which customers are paying extra for. Well, this lady is legitimately vintage and antique yet still is in amazing shape!
· Face Plate: Is original. I didn't have the glass plate nor the buttons to go with it, unfortunately.
· Cabinet Interior: The only bits added were a brand new 20 Watt digital amp, a brand new wireless Bluetooth device, brand new 8 inch full range speakers, and some brand new speaker wire. You can play anything that has either an RCA connection (red and white inputs/outputs), or an included MP3 hard-wire connection (such as an iPod) or can connect through a Bluetooth device. In other words, any receiver, phonograph, cd player, etc. that has an RCA output can be played through the amp. Any iPod/MP3 player can be played through an included connecting cord. Any device (such as a smart phone, laptop computer, etc.) that has a wireless function can be used through the Bluetooth device. I also named her "Brett"
Dimensions:
Cabinet: 34.5“ Wide x 35.5” High x 15” Deep
Shipping: The cabinet will be insured for purchase price. There are three options for shipping:
Please ask any and all questions. I'm happy to answer them.
Also happy to provide additional photos, upon request.
Ethos:
In bringing these pieces into the 21st Century, I am confronted by the choice of either refurbishing or refinishing the exterior of the unit. As a rule, I do try to make that choice as easy as possible by either securing cabinets with either very nice or very not-so-nice finishes. By replacing the original electronics with 21st Century technology, the work I do on these pieces is rather controversial in the antique radio, speaker and TV world. There are some who think that every cabinet, speaker and television should be restored to as close to original condition as they can, regardless of present condition and who actually owns the cabinet or speaker.
I respect that position. As a history buff, a former archaeologist by degree, and a fan of these pieces, I understand and appreciate that way of thinking.
However, there are some problems with that position. The first is that even if one can find NOS, original parts or cobble together a similar solution, the only modern day functionality achieved from restoring a pre-war radio is an AM radio. The original multi-band radio has no broadcasts to receive other than AM. For instance, the “Police” band is no longer used by the men in blue. So, spending hundreds of dollars on what will be an AM radio is now an economic decision based on value when a brand new AM radio with better sound and lots of additional functionalities can be had for very little money. Some people love AM radio and may very well enjoy having an antique radio broadcasting their favorite talk-radio in their living room. Just as some people may enjoy watching a 1950’s TV in all of its black and white glory.
My position is that if there is separation of the architecture from the function of the piece, then we can find new, innovative ways to use the architecture, increase their value and functionality, and help them persevere for another 80 + years.
The separation of architecture from technology is similar to the situation involving homes built before air conditioning was available. While some people may prefer the more natural ambiance of wood burning stoves and fireplaces for heating and open windows for cooling, I think it is fair to say most of us recognize the value of central air conditioning, or at least window shakers in the summer time. Keep the architecture, yet bring the technology up to a current standard for greater utility and value for more people.
A corollary position involves the classic car world. Some people believe in restoring those cars to as close to show room condition as possible. But, some people install new engines, suspensions, electronics, etc. but keep the body styles the same. Of course, some take liberties and modify the bodies too. But, I believe this illustrates my position. Keep the architecture, update the innards and provide new and innovative ways to use that architecture for uses in the 21st Century.
When choosing a piece of history to put my blood, sweat and tears into, I am very selective. I do my best to select pieces that have been treated very well, or those that have been through hard times, spent far too long being ignored in the garage or shed, and generally in desperate need of a makeover. In fact, when refinishing a piece like the ones I work on, the entire process is much easier when the finish is quite beaten up. So, the worse it appears, the better for me, to a point. To be clear, I’m not advocating for separating all antique electronics from their exteriors. In fact, I look for cabinets whose electronics are either gone or in such disrepair that fixing them will be a significant challenge. Most of the cabinets you will see came to me as cabinets only. All of those electronics that I do find are either sold locally to fellow radio fans or donated to fellow members of my antique radio club. As you might suspect, nearly all of the cabinets I come across have finishes that are in serious need of a redo. However, I have come across others that still look quite good and those have been occupying special places in my home for quite some time. You will soon start to see them here, on this website, mostly because one of my best friends and his wife wanted to have one of my tabletop mp3 players done. But, they wanted one with the original finish. I hadn't ever really considered doing that, but I found a tabletop Zenith (check the SOLD page for photos) with zero electronics but with a solid enough finish that both they and I were very happy with the final results. So, you will soon see some original finish radios updated into both guitar amp speaker cabinets or mp3 players, or a hybrid of the two (both).
I’m not savvy in the ways of veneer replacement and I’m not terribly keen on changing much on these pieces other than cosmetics, and then almost exclusively on the exterior. So, hopefully the veneer is intact but the finish is nearly gone. I truly prefer to leave the interiors as unmolested as possible, mostly as a reminder of how truly old these pieces are, where they came from, and how they were built. Some of the pieces require additional structural support in order to remain upright and in good form. So, I add support when necessary.
As far as the innards go, for the guitar amp speaker cabinets I try to keep things simple. Namely, provide supports for the speaker(s), a jack to plug into, and provide a back if necessary or if requested. The mp3 players are more customized and dependent upon the customer, but usually involve Bluetooth/wireless in addition to some sort of amplification.
My hope for all of my pieces is that they will be seen by younger people who may have never seen this architecture before, much less doing such 21st Century activities as playing music from their phone or iPod or creating music as a guitar amp cabinet. Once they see this architecture being used in ways that they appreciate, maybe they will want to use them, preserve them, and love them as I do.
I did play in a band and used one of these pieces as my guitar amp cabinet on stage. Every time I used it people asked questions such as, “What is that?” and “What does it do?” and “How did you get it to look so cool?”
Sounds like I’m on the right track.
| Listed | 8 years ago |
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