A visitor to my website recently sent an email asking for information about his grandfather's Stromberg-Carlson TV/radio/phono combo in a red/black Chinese cabinet.

I have seen the TV in a Chinese cabinet before, but had no idea they were made with a phono and radio as well. But there it is in the 1950 dealer brochure at the TV History website.

http://www.tvhistory.tv/1950-Stromberg-Carlson-Ad.JPG

List price: $895 . . . uff da!

The guy is not interested in selling, but I'm trying to talk him into sending me a photo or two.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

There were several distinctly different variations of the Chinese Classic throughout the seven-odd years S-C offered it...

http://tvontheporch.com/images/scopen.jpg

this one being probably the most common.

This model has Du Mont-esque engineering, but one of the earlier 12" versions (not the one in the ad you linked) apparently had a straight-up RA-103 chassis.

Here's a li'l more (http://tvontheporch.com/photo5_3.html)

Hey Phil
I have one of those torn apart right now.
This is the late forties version
Here is the before picture

http://web.mac.com/bkharris/iWeb/Site%204/SC-Combo.html

Zowie! Maybe I'll get one of those when I grow up :-)

This owner said that his set has two turntables, which seems a little curious (where would the second one fit in the cabinet?). He is not a radio/tv person, however, so perhaps he just meant that it plays more than one speed.

Regards,

Phil

The two turntables sit in two drawers to the left of the crt in the 1950 version.

I have two of the SC chinese classis combos. I have a 1950 version pictured in the ad. (2nd down from the top on the left) Mine has the two record players. I also have a 1951 19AP4 combo version. Like the black one pictured. My other SC is a 21" TV only.

polaraman

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140131374047

Here is my 19AP4 version with the green doors. Not as striking as the red or yellow door versions, but still a beauty!

oOo, I never saw one painted like that before--I just now turned the same color! :tongue:

being a big fan of chiense art (and not being a big fan of most TV programs today), id be inclined to throw on an LP and sit and look at the cabinet with the doors closed for hours! :-) That thing is beautiful!!

it's amazing the things they could say back then... if someone said "chinese" today you'd have all the whiny crybabies complaining

it's amazing the things they could say back then... if someone said "chinese" today you'd have all the whiny crybabies complaining

Maybe I'm out of touch, but as far as I know, it's okay to say "Chinese art". Capitalize the "C" though. Anyway, I showed the picture of this TV to a Chinese friend of mine, and he says that he had never seen furnature that looked like that when he grew up in China. He's from the area of China across from Tiawan. So maybe this style of TV cabinet would be seen only in other parts of China, if at all.

Hi,

The reason for the 2 record turntables was that this is one of the very early 45 RPM players. It was common in the early days of microgroove to have a separate turntable or at least a separate tonearm for microgroove play. Usually the 2 armed players were manual only for microgroove play.

There is one of these on Ebay now. The set is in Bakersfield CA.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-STROMBERG-CARLSON-1954-IVORY-CABINET-TV_W0QQitemZ140131374047QQihZ004QQcategoryZ3638QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The starting bid is $500, fairly espensive.

John, I really like the green on your set!

The eBay set is signed by the artist, were they all like that?
I don't see much about Doris Roeder on the Web, perhaps if it were signed by Picasso? :scratch2:

There is one of these on Ebay now.

He says that it works, but he should have a picture of the set with a video image on the CRT on the ebay listing....:D

Eric,

All the painted SC sets are signed by the artist. Mine is signed by Carl Johnson? I really do not think he was Chinese with a name like that! :D

The 1951 model like mine and John's were $995 when new in 1951.

My chassis is whacked and I cannot figure it out. Something went out and it is still not working. My 19AP4 is good. Peverett gave me another complete radio and TV chassis. Eventually I will transfer all the caps to the new chassis.

polaraman

Eric,

All the painted SC sets are signed by the artist. Mine is signed by Carl Johnson? I really do not think he was Chinese with a name like that! :D



They should have gotten Robert E Lee as an artist. :D Odd that the leader of the South was a Chinese guy... :D I had a professor Chin Wah Lee in college.

Wonder why they didn't just have the artwork just printed on... Like the old Philco and such table radios of the 30s made of cheap wood, but with a "photofinish" paper venieer to make it look fancy.

Don't you think the hand painting was intended as a luxury feature? $895 or $995 was a luxury price :-)

RCA made a couple of tabletop radios with painted designs -- one with Oriental patterns, another with a Mexican scene.

The painting may not have been that expensive, anyway. Think of all the other things, from china to cheap souvenirs, that were hand painted.

Phil

John, I really like the green on your set!

The eBay set is signed by the artist, were they all like that?
I don't see much about Doris Roeder on the Web, perhaps if it were signed by Picasso? :scratch2:

I just bought a Stromberg-Carlson Chinese Classic cabinet from Goodwill to use as a stand for my 3D Printer. I did not know what it was other than a nice looking gutted TV cabinet.

I found this post because the cabinet is signed by Doris Roeder. She has at least a few pieces of her work still around. After 7 years after Eric's post, there is still nothing more about her on the web.

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/10450020_10204013233992790_6326373925908148086_o.j pg