Help ID a 1920s Cabinet with Speaker
 

I am not sure whether this beast was sold without chassis and only a speaker so the customer could install their own radio in the bottom slot, or if it's missing its chassis.

Guy who owns it says his ma bought it a long time ago. He's going to look underneath to see if there are any markings.

I have a 1927 Grebe that came with the 'speaker stand' which is a flat top table with a speaker in the apron below the table top on the front side. You put the radio on top and connect to the speaker. I thought maybe there were other cabinets like this, even generic, but I don't know.

The Radio Attic Archives is a LOT of radios to look through - over 5000 I think. I've scanned the pages through D so far and have not seen it.

Any clues?

It's a 1928 Philco model 86. The first year the company offered radios and it was the top of line model. It wasn't a custom cabinet, but was built specifically for that model. That set is special to me because it's the one my mother always talks about listening to as a kid. Amazingly they do turn up occasionally. I believe the chassis is the same as the tabletop models, so it is possible to bring that one back. Good luck.

American Bosch also made some cabinets like that for their "coffin" style radios like my Eveready Model 1 (which was a rebadged American Bosch Model 28).

Actually in 1928 this model was known as the model 551 and in 1929 it became the model 86.

If there's an ID tag on the cabinet somewhere (like maybe a tube placement chart for example) then that will tell you if it was a 551 or a model 86 (which will then narrow down the date a lot more).

Hope this helps