[Ron Ramirez]

All Philco cabinets of that time were hand rubbed in that manner as part of the finishing process. If you ever notice any of their older ads, say from the early 1930s, they will speak of a "hand-rubbed finish." This is what they were describing.

The rubbing consists of very light wet sanding with extremely fine sandpaper (2000-4000 grit), followed by a final rubdown with mineral oil and rottenstone. Russ can describe the process better than I can, I believe.