Found silvertone cathedral by rca! Is it real?

[Tubejunke]

Last weekend I found a Silvertone cathedral radio working for an asking price of $75. Upon inspection I could see that some "modernization" had been done and the model # had been scratched off of the sticker bearing the name Radio Corporation of America. The "modernization" was mainly a jack for headphones or to plug a guitar into was installed compromising the antiquity of the chassis which already had me puzzled with the missing model # and RCA name.

My skepticism might have caused me to lose out on a decent radio though as I found that RCA made chassis for Sears or "Silvertone" so that may have been correct. All of that led me to wonder if someone had just crammed a spare chassis into one of these "re-pop" or reproduction cabinets since the very old radio's finish and speaker cloth were in excellent condition with only minor cracking of the dried out finish. It just looked to darned good for the money and the sellers were not without knowledge of vintage radios and values as they have a couple of really nice breadboards and a cabinet style AC powered TRF with fairly hefty price tags.

I just assume that a working cathedral in almost any condition would be more than $75 and they were quick to ask what I would give, so I am sure I could get it for $50. I know that the economy has brought prices way down on old electronics, but to get a golden oldie for beans almost seems unreal. I have many vintage radios. but no cathedrals and I can't stop wondering if I should go back. I must add that it is about as "plain Jane" as a radio could be with a single AM band.

Any thoughts or advice on this would be appreciated.

[WISCOJIM]

Was it an RCA manufacturing label, or an RCA licensing label?

Pictures and model information would greatly help properly identifying it.

.

[toxcrusadr]

Yes, pics of both the front and rear.

[Reece]

Almost all if not all radios of that era and later bore labels listing the patents that they used, most of which were from RCA, even though the sets were made by many different manufacturers.

[Tubejunke]

This is as close as I can come to what I found out of ALL the pics on Google images for Silvertone cathedral radios, which are a ton. The speaker grille design is what I had to go by and this is the same. The odd thing is that I couldn't find a picture where the distance between the knobs are the same as the one I found.

Every example I see has the two lower knobs quite close together, basically forming a triangle. The unit I found has the two lower knobs a fair distance apart. Again, the model# looked to be scratched off as everything else was readable. And if memory serves me correctly it said that it was manufactured under license from Radio Corporation of America.

I guess either way it would be worth say $50 to any radio enthusiast, but I have plenty already and I do want a cathedral. I am just picky about my stuff being correct and original.

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by Tubejunke

...I am just picky about my stuff being correct and original.

Good rule to collect by. Hold out for the set you really want. I've got my share of weird miss-matched radios

[Reece]

Sears sold a lot of radios and there were models that were similar but with subtle or not-so-subtle differences. Witness, for example, the 1936-37 big gold dial sets: there are bunches of them, some made by Stewart Warner, some by Colonial, I believe. I'll bet your radio is real. Are there any Silvertone branded tubes left in it?

[Tubejunke]

I don't know if there are any green label Silvertone stock tubes in there. I wish I had looked. I am debating going back with $50; especially after looking at all these images on the Web showing me what amazing looking stuff is out there. In comparison, this little cathedral is about as basic and plain as a radio could be.

I think that Bandersen's advice of holding out for something really special is a good way to obtain correct and not so common pieces, while at the same time avoiding cluttering your collection with substandard, cobbled and nickel and dime sets that not many people really want.

Since this is my Silvertone thread, I thought I would make it interesting by adding a picture of pretty much my centerpiece of that era. It is a model 4663 tombstone with rather odd Deco styling and superb cabinet craftsmanship by Colonial.

In my search for just ONE matching picture of the original topic cathedral I found two other similar models with the same dial face, knobs, and likely the same chassis. My 4663 is the one with the swept back top. The 4664 is more plain with a centered dial face, and the 4763 is really nice looking with the neat front and side speaker grille. These are amazing performers! I have had mine since I was about 12 and I am now 43. I pulled most of the stock Silvertone tubes out and replaced them with other brands in order to preserve the originals. One has died after all these years. No real restoration to speak of. Just let her play once in a while! I have noticed that one electrolytic capacitor has been replaced and it had to be done before I got it years ago.

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by Reece

Sears sold a lot of radios and there were models that were similar but with subtle or not-so-subtle differences. Witness, for example, the 1936-37 big gold dial sets: there are bunches of them, some made by Stewart Warner, some by Colonial, I believe. I'll bet your radio is real. Are there any Silvertone branded tubes left in it?

Reece was right. It is real! Sometimes when you can't get something off of your mind, there is a reason for it. So, I went back with some cash in hope of scoring it for $50, but the guy kept trying to hold firm saying that it wasn't his to haggle over and that's what the owner had to have. I'm thinking this is a junk/antique store. NOTHING is firm. So anyway I got it for $65! It is a model 1706 and everything is correct! I'm really happy with it. Radioattic.com has one with a shabbier looking chassis that they claim to have sold for $195, or that at least was the "listed price at the time of sale." So, I don't think I got hurt any.

I need a set of correct knobs for one of these if anyone has a set. Mine has what looks like 40s-50s plastic knobs that actually look nicer than the originals, but I like them to be correct. Thanks Reece!!!

[Tubejunke]

Sorry, these pictures were supposed to attach to the last message. I don't know what happened.

[CaryLee]

Nice score!

Glad you were able to get it, it actually looks VERY good.

Sears products have a habit of combining features from all over the place even to this day. The first item to ever bear the Silvertone name was a wind up phonograph back around 1915 or so..and it's hard to figure out WHO built it. Even the Sears history website doesn't say. Fairly cryptic markings seem to indicate they were built by Brunswick..but I haven't seen anyone ever confirm it.

So did it turn out the extra input jack was original too? I'm curious because I have a 1938 RCA Console that has a "Victrola" jack up inside the cabinet that is a factory original. I'm told that with the proper adapter plug, I could play an IPOD through it...but haven't tried it. So it's possible yours IS original.

[Tubejunke]

I really don't know if the jack is original or not. If and when I remove the chassis I will be able to tell more just by the build of the jack and the wiring used to install it. If it is a later install, it will probably not be cloth wire and the jack will probably just have a newer look about it in general, if that makes sense. Either way, mine would have to be an output jack for headphones, which is no surprise to me as back in the early days of radio people would want to sit up late and listen to broadcasts from far away lands as AM comes alive at night. Back then you might not even have a daytime radio station as nothing was close enough. So at night you wouldn't want to p off all the early birds sleeping.

Most of the time if a phonograph jack was installed there would be a sticker or something pointing out its function and also there would be a position on one of the controls specifically for that function. I don't see why the old radio's that bear the Victrola function would not amplify the Ipod signal once you find a way to introduce it. Might be worth a try.

[Electronic M]

IIRC my 1931 RCA has a phono input but no selector switch for it...So you have to tune to a dead spot in the band to use the input...

[Reece]

Some of the late twenties/early thirties sets had their volume control in the antenna circuit and so could not regulate the volume of an attached phonograph with the radio's volume control. There would be a separate volume control associated with the phonograph attachment and the radio's volume would be turned all the way down when playing records.