[Ron Ramirez]

Kirk spotted this on the auction site. I have never seen anything like this before, so I bought it to see if I could figure out anything more about it.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00001.jpg]

The trouble is, the only known 42-123 is a console model (42-123F).

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00003.jpg]

I looked in Philco Furniture History to make sure I had not missed it.

Nope, no 42-123T there.

However, there is an entry for a 42-132T, cabinet no. 10594-A, designed by A.R. Woodman on November 26, 1941.

With a design date that late in the year, this would have been intended as a mid-season 1942 model. Of course, Pearl Harbor and America's subsequent entry into WWII basically put an end to Philco's 1942 season, although a few mid-season models were still introduced and put into very limited production before conversion to 100% war work for the government sometime in the Spring of 1942.

No other information is listed.

So...I am wondering if the 132 is a typo, and maybe they meant 42-123T?

I did a Google patent search, and there are no design patents for any radio cabinets designed by A.R. Woodman.

So it remains much of a mystery.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00004.jpg]

It is missing the outer portion of one of the feet.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00005.jpg]

It has an unusually large speaker for a battery radio...and plenty of space in back for the batteries.

This radio has five tubes and a single band, just like the 42-122T and 42-123F.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00006.jpg]

You can't really tell from the photo, but when I look at the chassis carefully, it sure looks like 42-123 to me.

Oh, forgot to mention: There are no stickers or labels of any kind inside or underneath the cabinet.

[SteveG]

Ron,
I liked that radio too. I noticed that there were only two screws for the speaker in the cabinet, yet four ears on the speaker. Seemed kinda odd to me. I asked the seller about it and he had no solution. What do you think?
Steve

[palegreenthumb]

Where there's one, there's bound to be another.  The models from that timeframe weren't produced in large quantities, but there's surely another one or two out there yet.

I think you should definitely list it in your gallery as a model.  Then others will come out of the woodwork in the next 5-10 years, once people know about it.

I looked in Philco Furniture History to make sure I had not missed it.
Nope, no 42-123T there.
However, there is an entry for a 42-132T, cabinet no. 10594-A, designed by A.R. Woodman on November 26, 1941.

I wasn't clear on this part.  In what source did you find the entry for a cabinet 10594-A by A.R. Woodman?

[Kenneth F. Besso Jr.]

           ,,,,YUP,,,your right---42-123,,,I do see it Now,,,NICE pick,,good luck with it RON,,,I know it is good hands now,,I presume that it is a factory made model,,well put together,,,BUT,,the amount of units put out is something else

[Arran]

Ron;
  When I first followed the link on the original thread I thought that I may have been looking at a Canadian model Philco, but alas it has no brass data plate on the rear of the chassis which a Toronto built Philco would have. The reason I thought this is that I have seen some Canadian built battery sets, and even some AC operated ones, with some rather odd cabinet layouts with the speaker bellow the level of the chassis. In other instances they would construct an abnormally deep cabinet. In battery sets the reason was obvious, it provided a convenient compartment for stowing the batteries, much like in a portable, of course in a set laid out this way it also allows the installation of a larger speaker. By the same measure it also allows a convenient place to stow a power supply today if AC operation is desired. It is a rather odd duck, maybe it was a low production set or a prototype that escaped to the outside, but either way it appeals to me.
Regards
Arran

[Ron Ramirez]

I wasn't clear on this part. In what source did you find the entry for a cabinet 10594-A by A.R. Woodman?

It's right there where I said...

I looked in Philco Furniture History to make sure I had not missed it.

Philco Furniture History.

I have a photocopy of the pages of Philco Furniture History from 1928 through 1949. I really regret not getting photocopies of later models when I had the chance to do so. Oh well, having the 1928-1949 models has been a big help.

What is Philco Furniture History?

It was an in-house document put together by Philco documenting (almost) all of their radio cabinets. It (usually) includes name of designer, size and weight specifications, cabinet cost, radio's original selling price, and production figures. Not all models have all of the specifications included, and there are some cabinets which were never produced (and marked as such). Also, there are a few cabinets which are obviously legitimate which are not listed in this document, so it is not perfect but is an excellent resource for documenting Philcos sets.

I began to use the information from this when I redid the photo gallery of Philcoradio.com several years ago. That is, information such as production figures. If there is a demand for the rest of the information, I may try to make that happen but that will be a huge job.

If you look in The Tropics section of the website at each individual Tropic model I have listed, you will see more complete information from Philco Furniture History. This served as a prototype of what I wanted to do with the Gallery at the time but I simply have not had the time to make that happen.

[palegreenthumb]

Oh, sorry, I missed the number transposition from 42-123T to 42-132T.         I was tired last night. Thanks for the info on Furniture History, though, I wasn't familiar with it.

[JimZ]

The radio drove me batty when I saw it listed. Mainly because of the configuration: Like an "inverted" tombstone which is pretty uncommon to begin with especially in US. Could this have been some sort of salesman sample that was intended to be an approx example of some console model? Tough one to figure out. Or even a mock up to evaluate console cabinets? Like those "child consoles" we see from time to time.
Like this sort of thing Detrola made (often misidentified as child console)

http://i873.photobucket.com/albums/ab298...2c58a4.jpg

[TA Forbes]

Just when you think you have seen it all........

[Arran]

Ron;
Do you still have this set on the to-do pile? I just ran into this thread whilst searching for something else.
Regards
Arran

[Ron Ramirez]

No, Kirk has it now.