My Philco Collection
1929 Philco 95 Lowboy
I picked this one up at the California Historical Radio Society's annual swap meet and sale in July 2016 for $10! Incredibly, the chassis is untouched! I'll need to replace the front grill work, but I think it's doable. This model is the oldest Philco radio in my collection, being from 1929.
1930 Philco 20B
9-24-2017. This one was found with the cabinet empty. This was Philco's 1st "Cathedral" radio from 1930. Groundbreaking. All tabletop radios before this had a seperate speaker. This was the 1st to have an all-in-one compact cabinet. All the other radio manufacturers would copy this style. I'm working on getting the internals to make this whole again.
10-29-2017. Got the chassis, speaker, tubes and knobs! The radio is whole once again! Replacement grille cloth on order. Chassis and cabinet restoration to follow later.
Update: 12-6-2017. New grill cloth installed. Chassis and cabinet restoration to follow later.
1931 Philco 90 Cathedral
According to Mr. Philco, Ron Ramirez, "This is the one. It has been referred to as "the epitome of antique radios." The classic styling has made this set and its smaller look-alikes, Models 21, 35, 46 and 70 Baby Grands, highly sought after for decades now." I remember the 1st time I did an image search on Google for "Antique Radio" back in 2012. This is the one that came up 1st. Ever since then, I wanted one. Finally found one Summer of 2016.
1933-34 Philco 89B Cathedral
I have 2 of this model. I hope to restore both and sell 1. Both are in overall excellent condition, with just a little woodwork needed on the one on the left.
This one was restored and was sold. You can read about some of the restoration here on the Philco Phorum:
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1934 Philco 84B Cathedral
10-6-2018. Picked up at the Annual Central California Historical Radio Society's Swap Meet, this is 1 of 3 radios I brought home this year. This is the 1st version of the 84B from 1934. I have another version of the 84B from the following year. The cabinet on this was so nice, I just couldn't say no for the price! Bonus is the fact that it is functional, and doesn't need much as far as servicing.
1935 Philco 16B Art Deco Tombstone
July 2018. I'm working on a barter deal with a friend to get this beautiful 1935 Philco 16B from a friend and fellow collector.
1935 Philco 45C "Butterfly"
One of the truly iconic Art Deco radios of the mid- 1930s. I bought this from a seller on the Antique Radios Group on Facebook. The cabinet is in original condition. I serviced the chassis, gave it a new cord, plug and grill cloth. Looks and performs great!
1935 Philco 59C "The Viking"
A cute little 4 tube art deco style tabletop. I picked this up at my 1st ever radio swap meet in October 2015, along with a Philco 89B and The Philco 604C, above. It had been serviced recently, but I checked it over and gave it a period style cord and plug.
1935 Philco 60B Cathedral
The one on the left I picked up for $8 at a thrift store 6-27-2014. It was pretty bad, with parts missing, and it didn't help that a shelf it was sitting on collapsed, and it tumbled to the floor. I hadn't yet decided what to do with it, and decided to pick up a better example. Picked up the 2nd one on 2-21-2016. I have since bought a spare chassis, and plan to restore both and sell the one on the right if I get both working.
1935 Philco 66B Cathedral
This one has been electronically restored and is up and running. The cabinet restoration was started and put on hold for other projects. I ordered this grill cloth, then later found a more appropriate cloth, which will be installed later, when I finish the cabinet restoration.
6-23-2018. New grill cloth finally installed.
1935 Philco 66S
6-14-2018. Last month I picked up a couple of antique lyre back chairs for my antique drop leaf table. Not long after, I spotted a Philco 66S on the Facebook Philco Enthusiasts Group, and had to have one. Found one and it arrived safely. New grill cloth installed, and I did a chassis swap with my 66B cathedral so I can enjoy listening to this beauty.
1935 Philco 84B Cathedral (Late Version)
11-8-2014. I picked up the flyer off of eBay because of the Tombstone pictured on the top that's similar to my 620B, illustrated on the top of the flyer. While on vacation with my wife, I shopped the antique stores while she was at a conference, and my jaw just about fell off when I spotted this 84B, which is also pictured on the flyer. You can see what kind of condition it was in when I found it. It still needs refinishing and veneer repair, but it's up and running.
1935 Philco 118B Cathedral
7-23-2017. I picked up this 1935 Philco 118B Cathedral in very good condition this weekend at Radio Day By The Bay, California Historical Radio Society's annual fundraiser event.
1935 Philco 118MX
12-15-2019.. Spotted this on Facebook Marketplace. I love the 2-tone color and modern design. I have a 118 Cathedral, so I know it's a good performer in tuning and sound. I didn't notice until I took the pics that part of the decorative trim on the bottom was missing. I'll have to figure out how to replace it when I get around to restoring it.
1936 Philco 116B Tombstone (Early Version)
4-14-2017. Worked out a barter deal to get this 11-tube 1936 Philco 116B recently. This is one of Philco's top of the line tabletop models of the year. 5 band radio (AM, Longwave, and 3 shortwave bands), with a 10.5" speaker and shadow meter, for assistance in tuning stations at their strongest signal. This radio does power on and receive stations. This radio uses a similar chassis as the 116PX, shown below. This tombstone is big! 24" tall and 16" wide. This one powered up and worked when I got it. It has been serviced 3-4 times, according to notes on the back of the chassis. It has had a jack added to the front, and a hole drilled in the cabinet. I plan to refinish this and move the jack to the back and patch the hole, as well as service the chassis again, since it was 1972 when last worked on. Looking forward to this restoration! I have since found another copy, with a better cabinet (see next entry), so once restored, I'll sell this one.
1936 Philco 116B (Early Version)
5-27-2018. I slept in and almost passed up on this at a local street antique fair. It's in better condition than my 1st copy, so I'll restore the 1st and sell it.
1936 Philco 116PX Console
I bought this from a seller on the LetGo App. It's a very RARE 1936 Philco Console with a built in record changer. Only 1,050 were made, and only 3-4 models documented on the Radio Forums on the internet. Mine is one of the few that survive intact. This unit has 11 tubes, 5 bands, shadow meter, and 3 "acoustic clarifiers". This radio uses a similar chassis as the 116B Tombstone pictured above. Considered one of the early High Fidelity sets made by Philco back in the day. This one should be fun to restore!
For more details and pics of this piece, visit my Philco Phorum discussion thread:
As of October 15, 2017, the radio is restored and up and running. The turntable and cabinet will follow later. This video was shot during the 1st attempt to power up after servicing the chassis.
If you'd like to follow along with the restoration, check out my thread of the electronic restoration on the Philco Phorum.
1936 Philco 604C
A cute little odd 1936 tabletop with the dial and controls on the top. This one gave me some grief. This restore was well documented on the Philco Phorum:
1936 Philco 610B
6-1-2018. With this radio, I completed the collection of radios pictured or mentioned on my original store poster ad.
Bought from a fellow collector on Facebook, this came via the Kutztown Radio meet in May, and shipped to me by Mr. Philco, Ron Ramirez.
Bought from a fellow collector on Facebook, this came via the Kutztown Radio meet in May, and shipped to me by Mr. Philco, Ron Ramirez.
1936 Philco 610F Console
4-6-2018. I spotted this radio while perusing ads on Craigslist. It popped up in pics from an upcoming Estate Sale. I thought it might be the 1 pictured radio from my store ad poster I have. I was right. It turned out to be a 1936 Philco 610F. Of course I had to get it.
1936 Philco 620B Tombstone
Picked this up on the Week after Christmas 2013 from a seller on Craigslist. My 1st full restoration. It was missing veneer, and the speaker. I managed to get an original replacement speaker, refinished the cabinet, and restored the radio to working order. This one was 13 months of work! One of my favorites, and also one of my best performing radios. I did make some mistakes on the refinishing by using stains and polyurethane for the finish. This was before I knew to grain fill and use toners and lacquers. It will eventually get a proper refinish...check out the video posted on the YouTube page for some pics and video of the restoration.
1936 Philco 620B Tombstone
A 2nd copy of this model. This one will be restored and probably sold. The speaker (missing in the bottom pic) was out being re-coned.
1936 Philco 620F
7-1-2017. I spotted this on the OfferUp App on my iPad, and found out it was a model 620. Same chassis as my 1st restoration, the 620B Tombstone. I picked it up on July 1st, and went straight to work on it. I had it up and running in 3 days, but it needed replacement grill cloth, new grill mounting board, speaker mounting board, and replacement dial. Rounded up and ordered everything, and got it all put together July 10th. It developed some problems, and I haven't gotten back to it yet. I will eventually finish restoring it and sell it.
1936 Philco 650X
11-4-2017. Back when I started collecting, I bought off of eBay a 1936 Philco Ad poster, since it had my Philco 620B pictured at the top. Not long after, I found the 84B Baby Grand. I also have a 60B (not pictured). Today, I added a 650X to the collection.
1937 Philco 37-61B Tombstone
This one was crying "rescue me!" at the Central Valley Historical Radio Society's Swap Meet in October 2016. A late tombstone from Philco in 1937. Haven't decided yet how to go about restoring the photo finish on this one. I may sell this one once restored.
1937 Philco 37-61B In a 37-60B Cabinet
July 2013. My 1st radio. I bought this from a seller on eBay. He took 2 radios in bad shape, and had the best of both restored. It was missing some hardware when I got it, and a knob. The radio works great. I had to enlarge the hole for the dual tuning knob system, since this chassis was not original to this cabinet.
1937 Philco 37-620B Tombstone
Needs a little work, but should be a nice one when done.
1938 Philco 38-1XX Console
6-8-2015. My wife nearly killed me when I brought this one home. After 2 weeks, it grew on her, and now that it's restored, it has a nice place in the living room, and gets used occasionally. The seller I bought this from on Craigslist said it survived a house fire. There is some minor finish damage on 1 side, and the grill cloth was water stained. I pulled the cloth out and gently washed it in Woolite, and it cleaned up nicely! This is a 12 tube Philco, with 3 bands. 1 AM, and 2 shortwave. One of the rarer consoles from 1938.
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1938 Philco 38-7T
June 6, 2017. Bought it from a fellow collector on the Antique Radios Group on Facebook. Using Philco's Cone-centric dial system, I wanted one, but in a tabletop model. I'm out of space, and have to be extremely picky about what, if any consoles I bring home. This was the only model in a tabletop version.
1937 Philco 37-610T & B, and 1938 38-624B
This one was interesting. I picked this up locally from a client who runs an antique mall. He sold it to me for $25 off the original price just because of our good working relationship. It turned out it has the wrong chassis and speaker enclosed! It is a 1938 Philco 38-624T 6v battery powered chassis! It originally came in a cabinet exactly like the 37-610T "Bullet" cabinet above. The chassis in the bullet above was also issued in this tombstone cabinet. Once the 38-624 is restored, I will do a cabinet swap.
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1939 Philco 39-30T
12-28-2014. Found this at a thrift store in Downtown Fresno. I had spotted it some months before, but passed on it. With the knowledge I've gained, I decided to rescue it. Missing the speaker and push buttons. I picked this up for $25. Obviously needs some TLC.
1940 Philco PT-63
5-7-2016. Picked this up at an estate sale, the same day as the 1939 Packard-Bell. This is a portable, battery powered unit. Probably won't keep this one.
1941 Philco RP-1 Wireless Record Player
2-18-2017. A late birthday present to myself this year. A 1941 Philco wireless record player. This has a built in small AM transmitter. It can be placed in the same room as your AM radio, and will broadcast your record music to your radio. Pretty innovative back then! Looking forward to getting this one running!
1941 Philco 41-250T
3-28-2014. My Dad spotted this in an antique store in his hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas, and shipped it out to me. Needs a lot of work, so I haven't tackled it yet. Haven't decided if I will keep this one.
1941 Philco 41-605P
2-14-2016. I love the Art Deco shape to this cabinet! Looking forward to restoring this someday!
October 2017, the radio is still in storage at my parents home, in the formal dining area. I decided to spiff it up by installing a new grill cloth in it.
1946 Philco 46-1201 "Bing Crosby Special"
3-4-2014. I bought this off of eBay as a birthday gift to myself. Still to be restored. It's a combination AM radio and record player. It's unique in that you insert the record in the front slot, much like CD players would do years later. It adjusts to 10" or 12" automatically, plays automatically when the front door is closed, and shuts off automatically. Often referred to as the "Bing" model, since it was heavily promoted by Bing Crosby on his "Philco Radio Time" show.
1948 Philco 48-472
8-31-2014. One of Philco's 1st AM-FM sets from 1948. This has the modern FM band that we know today. I actually have 2 of this model. I hope to restore both and sell one.