12-19-2011, 02:19 PM
Thanks. Apologies to you and all for the basicness of the questions - trying to quickly assess the set and just how big my learning curve is, admittedly, by using this forum and any gracious expertise I might find here, as a shortcut. If I took on the project I wouldn't continue like this.
My question about rareness wasn't about salable worth so much as value in a preservation sense. Usually (at least in WWII militaria) there is a correlation between scarcity, desireability, and value. If this was one of the "more desireable" (as you put it) Philco sets, I was thinking I might approach what to do with it differently. It's obviously not a museum quality example of a Model 91B, but it seems like it could be if I wanted to invest that kind of a restoration in it, given the condition of the cabinet and the fact that everything in it is original. Some WWII-era Jeeps, to extend the analogy, will never be museum quality, because they are fundamentally altered, cannibalized, or fixed with parts that were not original in 1941-1945 and in ways that can't be undone. Butchered, in a word, by what we more appraising and careful collectors and restorers refer to as "Bubbas." I didn't want to be a Philco Bubba, especially if this was a rare set.
My take on what you're saying is, if I was only interested in having this set restored, I should probably pay to have it done, because it's not going to cost me more than a couple hundred, and it will otensibly be done professionally and correctly without any costly or ugly or unsafe mistakes. If I want this restored AND I wanted to do it myself, as a pleasure, I should probably expect to invest alot of time and learning in addition to money.
I don't know that I can handle another demanding "hobby" right now, and I'm afraid that if I say I'll take it slow, a little at a time, it'll be another 10 years.
I think I'll see if I can replace the grille board and cloth for now.
Thanks, again. I really appreciate your guidance, helpfulness and patience.
My question about rareness wasn't about salable worth so much as value in a preservation sense. Usually (at least in WWII militaria) there is a correlation between scarcity, desireability, and value. If this was one of the "more desireable" (as you put it) Philco sets, I was thinking I might approach what to do with it differently. It's obviously not a museum quality example of a Model 91B, but it seems like it could be if I wanted to invest that kind of a restoration in it, given the condition of the cabinet and the fact that everything in it is original. Some WWII-era Jeeps, to extend the analogy, will never be museum quality, because they are fundamentally altered, cannibalized, or fixed with parts that were not original in 1941-1945 and in ways that can't be undone. Butchered, in a word, by what we more appraising and careful collectors and restorers refer to as "Bubbas." I didn't want to be a Philco Bubba, especially if this was a rare set.
My take on what you're saying is, if I was only interested in having this set restored, I should probably pay to have it done, because it's not going to cost me more than a couple hundred, and it will otensibly be done professionally and correctly without any costly or ugly or unsafe mistakes. If I want this restored AND I wanted to do it myself, as a pleasure, I should probably expect to invest alot of time and learning in addition to money.
I don't know that I can handle another demanding "hobby" right now, and I'm afraid that if I say I'll take it slow, a little at a time, it'll be another 10 years.
I think I'll see if I can replace the grille board and cloth for now.
Thanks, again. I really appreciate your guidance, helpfulness and patience.
Fair Haven, NJ
