Very Interesting predicta...

[azguy1878]

Never seen one like this before...




http://cgi.ebay.com/PHILCO-PREDICTA-...QQcmdZViewItem

[kx250rider]

Neither have I.. Prototype ?????


Charles

[doug621ts]

Never seen one of those! Too far for me but I hope someone near by that set snatches it!

[Eric H]

It looks like it might be a standard Holiday with some kind of optional base?
The base doesn't quite match in color though.

[jpdylon]

Franken Philco !!!

[kx250rider]

Originally Posted by Eric H

It looks like it might be a standard Holiday with some kind of optional base?
The base doesn't quite match in color though.

You're right, on second look it does appear to be 2 pieces. But it looks like the same cheap phony woodgraining flaking off the base as usually happens on the TV. And I see some kind of gold lettering on the bottom framework. Maybe a weird Philco base accessory?

Charles

[Tom_Ryan]

Take a good look at all the pictures. Side view shows wood grains that don't match. The close up of the front shows the base uses thicker wood than the upper TV section. The trim piece on the front is does not have verneer on the side to hide the joint. Even the metal grill doesn't match the upper grill. My bet is that the lower part is not a Philco cabinet. My thought is that the Hoilday model uses a very narrow speaker - difficult to find and replace. I don't recall a search of any Philco advertizing that shows an extra base so, it looks like someone added a lower cabinet with more conventional speakers for improved sound.

[Tim]

I thought I recalled seeing this somewhere and I found a scan of a sales brochure for it. It was made by Universal Woodcrafters and offered as an aftermarket add-on for those buyers who wanted a pseudo-console. The scan quality is marginal but you get the idea.

[kx250rider]

Good work Tim! Mystery resolved... Since it's an official item, this is probably a must-have for the Predicta collectors. I know that in some cases, the TV stand for the 17" metal Predicta is worth more than the tv.

Charles

[Tom_Ryan]

Sure, that was good sleuthing Tim....but Charles, that hardly makes it a mystery solved. Far from it!

First, why would Philco do it? Does it seem reasonable that Philco's objective was to get better sound from the Holiday? In the seller pictures it shows wood grains going in the opposite direction. What a crappy job they did on this. Wood grain doesn't match. Even the from grill wood is close but not close enough. The design is 'close' but no 'cigar'. I wonder if this was a home brew look-a-like copy someone did because they couldn't afford the real thing?

[Tom_Ryan]

Ha, so much for antiquity...damn thing only went for $123.50...Holidays, normally go for x2, x3, or even x4 that amount if in good working condition.

[bgadow]

I'm not sure how "official" Universal Woodcrafters was; maybe they had some connection with Philco, a licensing agreement or something, but I'm not surprised that the craftmanship would be less than OEM. I do have a base up in the attic for a standard '56 Philco table set & its quality is nothing to write home about. Just something for the dealer to stock to get a few extra sales.

[Tom_Ryan]

Originally Posted by bgadow

I'm not sure how "official" Universal Woodcrafters was; maybe they had some connection with Philco, a licensing agreement or something, but I'm not surprised that the craftmanship would be less than OEM. I do have a base up in the attic for a standard '56 Philco table set & its quality is nothing to write home about. Just something for the dealer to stock to get a few extra sales.

That's a great point. I suppose it's the same today with cell phones. There are so many after market suppliers, quality much less than OEM, of handsfree kits, headsets, chargers, speaker phones, and all kinds of gimmicky stuff - most of which is often never officially approved or endorsed by the handset manufacturer.