Starting bid $37.77.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160470460021&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Bring along an extra can of spinach to move this one!

Phil

Oooh - that's a cool set. Maybe one of these days...

I'm guessing that one has been refinished with clear finish after stripping the original dark mahogany stain. Or did they have a lighter version? Mine actually looks a little like this one, and I've always assumed it was refinished by a previous owner. Someday I'll refinish mine to put it back to the original color, although I have to admit it probably looks better to the modern eye with the lighter finish.

As I look at the pictures more closely, given the poor condition of the finish, it seems it might be original. Might have to research a bit to see if I can find any evidence of the lighter color being available originally.

Picture of mine here: http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philco_48_2500.html and here at the bottom of the article: http://www.radiomuseum.org/forum/projection_television_sets.html .

These are indeed unique sets.

Most 1940s cabinets are dark, but I think the lighter finish is more in keeping with the overall style, which would look at home with somewhat newer "Mid Century Modern" items. If the eBay set was refinished, that must have been quite a while ago, for it to get so uniformly beat up. Anything's possible, of course.

Phil

I'm guessing it's the original finish, getting rid of all the dark finish so uniformly would be nearly impossible.

It says it was owned by the Hollywood Entertainment Museum (why they had it they don't say) so maybe it was a custom job for some big shot.

I have all the internals for one of these including a NOS CRT.
I fired up the chassis one day and it produces a wickedly scary amount of HV!

It's 54 miles and one Hernia away from me. :scratch2:

I'm guessing that one has been refinished with clear finish after stripping the original dark mahogany stain. Or did they have a lighter version? Might have to research a bit to see if I can find any evidence of the lighter color being available originally.

Tom,

I'm not sure about it being original either. I know that the original preproduction units were in walnut, but I never saw one with blond finish, or read anywhere that it was available in anything but dark mahogany. Also the veneer is mahogany, could have been what RCA called "toasted mahogany", but if you look at the edges of the lid it's dark, another "gotcha". Really need to see it in person, but if it goes cheap......


Chuck

I bought a dark cabinet 48-2500 from the Bowie MD Raidio/TV museum a couple years ago after they got one with a blonde finish as a donation. So there are other blonde finish ones out there.

-Richard

Although blond was certainly popular at the time, and many other manufacturers offered sets in blond finish, that's not what I'm seeing here. This looks more like natural mahogany rather than blond, which I associate with a nearly opaque tan-colored "stain."

Have people seen actual blond 48-2500s, or are we simply calling this light mahogany color "blond?"

I've seen the 48-2500 at the Bowie MD Radio/TV museum but I honestly didn't look that close to see if it was blonde or light mahogany. It definitely was a different color then my 48-2500 which is redish brown. Bowie is 65 miles the other side of Washignton DC from me and too far to drive in the immediate future. Another TV collector Craig Roberts has some TVs on loan to the museum. I'll try emailing him to see if he may have given the 48-2500 a closer look.

Yah, I think it looks like a light natural finish rather than blond.

What's the plastic strip with dark bars next to the knobs? Channel indicator?

Phil

Drat, I was looking at the set again and the Cat jumped on the keyboard and bid on it. :drool:
I must be out of my mind.

That's 40's blond. The later blond is limed. I don't like that. This I do like.
I have two RCA's in this type of blond.
The plastic thingy is a radio dial. Definately worth getting... Tell your cat you just bought it...... :D
Bill Cahill

What's the plastic strip with dark bars next to the knobs? Channel indicator?

Hi Phil,

Yes, that's the channel indicator. The tuner has 8 positions, and you can insert appropriate coils for the 8 channels you want, and put a little plastic number into the appropriate slot on that strip (a little like Philco pushbutton radios from the 1940s). Behind the strip there is a lamp on a dial string that moves from position to position along the strip as the tuner turret is turned.

Tom

I talked to Craig Roberts who has spent a lot of time at the Bowie Radio/Television Museum. He says the Philco 48-2500 at the museum is blonde color but could not definitely say that it wasn't light mahogany.

-Richard

I got it for the opening bid of $37.77
Umm, Cool, I guess... :scratch2:

What piece of furniture should I toss to make room for it?

I think I'll take it to work, paint it red and and disguise it as a Tool Box.

Surely you jest. You'd better restore that monster :yes:

What should you get rid of? How about your bed? lol

Surely you jest. You'd better restore that monster :yes:

I jest, about painting it red at least, I probably will store it at work for awhile.

We've started doing Furlough time at work due to the budget crunch, my lunch has been bumped up to an hour (instead of letting us go home early :thumbsdn:) so I have time to work on my projects there now. :D

I will restore it if it's in decent condition, the last one I had the cabinet was so far gone I would up throwing it away, saved the innards though so I have plenty of spare parts.

It has a Certificate of Authenticity! I'm soooo excited about that because I was worried i might buy a counterfeit 48-2500.

Seriously though, if it was owned by Clark Gable or something that would be really cool!

Seriously though, if it was owned by Clark Gable or something that would be really cool!

It's an intriguing thought! I wonder what criteria this set fit into in order to have been part of a museum collection? Belonging to an actor, perhaps being a movie prop? That would be cool if it had been in the background of some old movie. Or maybe it was just there to show what people used to watch tv on back in the 40's?

Either way, I'm sure that owning a "certified museum piece" is worth the price of admission! :thmbsp:

Congratulations, I think...

You can't complain about the price, but I realize that is the least of your worries!

My 48-2500 is the only set I have that has not made it into the house yet and consumes mucho space in my workshop. That's partly because I think it's not all that attractive to display, and partly because I don't have all of its technical bugs corrected yet. Maybe if you start working on yours it will inspire me to really get mine whipped into shape.

Resist the temptation to try to clean the screen with anything aggressive. The screen is coated with a special high relectivity coating which is basically irreplaceable.

Enjoy!

Hey Eric, don't let UPS ship it....:D

I have many spares for this beast, as I've junked 3 or 4 of them, and Tom is absolutely right - don't clean the reflective screen with anything, this from experience.

Chuck

Well it's home, in the back of my truck for now.
It's not as heavy as I thought, the two of us were able to slide it out of his truck and take it over to mine without any Hernias.

By comparison my 49-1280 Combo gave three grown men fits getting it out of a barn and into the truck.

It's pretty rough but not as rough as my last one and it seems to all be there.

Pictures at a later date.

P.S.

The Cert of Authenticity just says it's a 48-2500 that was bought at one of their auctions, nothing about why they had it.
I'm guessing if it belonged to Bogart they wouldn't let it go without mentioning that. :D

It has the Name Carroll written on the back edge.

The Finish is original I'm pretty sure, sort of a Honey color.
The inside under the lid is dark because it's a projection set, don't want reflections.

Heh, maybe Nancy Carroll owned it...

Heh, maybe Nancy Carroll owned it...

Could also have been owned by Leo G. Carroll. The time line is right. Maybe there's a ghost or two from 'Topper' inside waiting for you to power it on...

Cliff

Correction, the name is Carlson.

Or Carlton, I'll have to look again.