Apparently rare Scott Cathedral Console cabinet for sale in CT

[Ken Carr]

I just noticed something that might interest someone on this site.

It is a Craigslist advertisement for an elaborately carved cabinet for an E. H. Scott radio.

The owner claims it is for the Scott AW-2. The cost is $4,000.

The location is said to be Putnam, CT.

[Norman S Braithwaite]

Independent Radio Corporation made cabinets for customers to use with any radio chassis of their choice.  They did not make cabinets for E.H. Scott Radio Laboratories and E.H. Scott Radio Laboratories did not offer cabinets made by Independent Radio Corporation.  If a Scott radio chassis was ever installed in a cabinet made by Independent Radio Corporation, it was the customer who chose to procure the chassis and cabinet as separate items and install the chassis in the cabinet.  The cutout on the face panel of the cabinet offered does not match any Scott chassis.

Norman

[Ken Carr]

Norman ... Thanks for the "rest of the story". It appears that the seller got it wrong. I'm sure that you have it right.

[David C. Poland]

I contacted the seller too. And agree with Norman. I asked the seller for his source of documentation that it was a Scott cabinet which he supplied me.

Seller's source is the website for Radio Museum which accepts information without vetting and picture's that round top fancy cabinet.  Someone had found that rounded top cabinet with a Scott radio in it and made a submission to the Radio Museum.  

Seller's cabinet example has a wood control panel that fits no Scott radio (wrong dial and control placements).

The eBay seller used that Radio Museum's item as as his documentation of being a Scott cabinet.  The cabinet was made by the same company as the fancy  Renassance "Heron" highboy (the cabinet with legs shaped like a heron grasping a fish). These cabinets can be considered furniture store cabinets that could have any number of radios fitted. 
Kent King and I have extensive Scott documentation including items back to the late 1920's when Scott first offered cabinets. No sign of any Independent Radio Corporation cabinets in our Scott literature

I have advised the the seller his Scott cabinet claim is stretch and why.

It is a striking cabinet, but not a Scott cabinet.

[David C. Poland]

In addition -  I looked up his item of the Radio Museum. To add to seller's confusion, the radio Museum item mentions a Scott cabinet named "Cathedral"  which is a flat topped desk-like high boy cabinet circa 1929 (it is in the Scott Collectors Guide as number 14)

The eBay seller had a image of the Independent Radio Corporation brochure with an image of round top cabinet he listed (and the "heron" cabinet which I have seen several times). 

[Bill Whelan]

I am the seller of this cabinet. It was difficult to identify the source of this cabinet with the sparse information available on the internet. I was lucky to receive an eBay email from Dave Poland, co-author of the 2016 2nd Edition of The E. H. Scott Radio Collectors Guide. He was interested in identifying this cabinet and did not believe the cabinet was a Scott. After I sent him the research I found, he and his co-author came to the conclusion it was not a Scott cabinet.

I differed to the judgement of these two Scott experts and ending the eBay auction. If additional information reveals the origin of this cabinet, I will re-list with the corrected information. Otherwise, any future listing will identify the cabinet as "Unknown Origin".

I am sorry for the errors in the auction title and description. My main goal always is to properly represent the radios I sell in the best possible way. In this circumstance, I fell short of my goal. Respectfully, Bill Whelan

[Kent King]

Bill - That is still a very impressive cabinet. Scott sold chassis and cabinets separately so the owner could house their set in something special, and this cabinet is most definitely something special. Even though it wasn't directly related to Scott sets, it would make a spectacular cabinet for a Scott set. 

Kent

[Bill Whelan]

As the seller, we lowered the starting price on eBay to $3,495 and if cabinet is not sold this week, the price will be lowered again on a re-list of the auction on eBay to $2,995.  If you go to Craigslist or my antique radio web site, catalinstore.com, it is now available for $2,995.  We are motivated to sell this beautiful cathedral console and please be in touch if you have further interest.  Regards, Bill Whelan

[palegreenthumb]

Can someone provide the link to the RadioMuseum entry for this cabinet?

I'd like to see if the page can be improved so it's less misleading.

Rodney

[Norman S Braithwaite]

A scan of the Independent Radio Company brochure in my possession can be found at the link below.  Please do not submit to Radiomuseum as it is my prerogative to do so when I am ready.  Note that the"cathedral" style console is not identified in the brochure.  Unless some other Independent Radio Corporation brochure is to turn up with the cathedral style cabinet, we can only rely on features to establish any relationship between the cathedral style cabinet and Independent Radio Corporation.  The carved figures resemble some I have seen on a cabinet that I suspect was made by Independent Radio Corporation but the speaker grill area reminds me of Berkey & Gay.  Since the carved figures are inset panels, it is possible that the insets were offered by a supplier to multiple cabinet makers.

http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=185243

Norman

[Robert Feenstra]

Norman, you mentioned Berkey and Gay in your post.  I have 2 B & G cabinets with radios - one a Grebe and the other a Balkeit with phono.  I'm missing the doors on the Grebe.  How common were these and would you have a line on an empty or otherwise cabinet?  I've seen what the doors look like but have not been able to track down the empty cabinet the photo came from.

[David C. Poland]

Robert - 

The chance of finding doors is slim to none with seldom seen cabinets like yours. Figure on fairly high mortality on floor model radios over the past 80 -90 years. And doors would seem most vulnerable to damage and loss over the years. With persistence and luck, another cabinet may turn up, but then you face the anguish of having two cabinets and only one set of doors :-)

Can be difficult to replicate doors, too. Takes skill and access to suitable veneers and then there is matching the patina of such old cabinetry. Good luck.

Your B&G Grebe looks very nice even if doors are missing. Doors hide the radio anyway.

[Robert Feenstra]

I finally found out that this cabinet was a B&G when I happened across the same cabinet that had sold a few years ago for $35.  He didn't know it was a radio cabinet.  I've tried to contact the seller to see if i could locate the empty cabinet, but no response.  My cabinet has been completely reconstructed and refinished as  it was literally falling apart.  I'm interested in the B&G cabinets as I live only about 25 minutes away and have been in the part of the building that remains.