[doc612]

I recently acquired my first Philco 90 cathedral and began work on the chassis. It is an early model with 2 push pull 45 tubes. Later I was cleaning the cabinet and on the bottom, along with a few other marks and scuffs, I noticed a rubber stamped date- MAY 31. It is very faint but once you see it there is no mistaking what it says. I have read that the 90 cathedral began production in June 1931. Is it possible I have one the very first ones made? The serial number is 111835. Just one of the many things that keep me awake at night.
Doc

[morzh]

Hmmm....I probably should look at mine, also 2x45 model.

[Arran]

 Since the date was stamped on the cabinet it's possible that Philco began model 90 cabinet production at an earlier point then chassis production in order that they be ready for the beginning of chassis production. The model 21 was already in production, or it just recently ended before this, and used basically the same cabinet as the model 70, and the model 90 is similar except larger, and it would not have taken that long for the cabinet shop to tool up to produce model 90s as opposed to the tooling and engineering needed to begin chassis production for the sets. In addition to manufacturing the cabinet parts and assembling them, they also needed to be finished which involved sanding, filling, sealing, lacquering, and rubbing out the finish, and that takes more time then chassis assembly. How far ahead of chassis production they would have been producing model 90 cabinets is another question, yours may have been one of the earliest ones off the line, that is unless they started building them in April?
Regards
Arran

[Ron Ramirez]

The new models were first introduced to Philco dealers in May, and to the public in June. So a May xx 1931 (or May xx '31) stamp is not out of the ordinary.

[Nathan Slingerland]

That's pretty interesting about the rubber stamp. I looked at the bottom of mine and sure enough it has one that says "JUN 24 '31".

[KCMike]

 You guys got me curious so I just checked mine and its June 7th 1931.

[doc612]

I can't read a day on mine. The MAY is very faint and the 31 is far enough apart that there could have been a number there. Very interesting though.
Doc

[Arran]

The new models were first introduced to Philco dealers in May, and to the public in June. So a May xx 1931 (or May xx '31) stamp is not out of the ordinary.

 Ron answered the question, and it makes perfect sense that they would do things that way so the local dealers could arrange displays and post ads in the local newspapers. There were some interesting discrepancies between cabinet production and chassis production as has been noted, like the early model 50 cabinet in another thread, which was a model 70/21 cabinet drilled to accept a model 50 chassis, as well as the assortment of chassis stuffed in grandfather clock cabinets, so clearly they were not always produced on the same timetable.
Regards
Arran

[doc612]

I know it's been a few days since this discussion but I have something to add that I found interesting... I was showing a friend the date stamped on the bottom of the 90 cabinet and he suggested a yellow light bulb. We tried it and the date reads MAY 14 31. I had tried a black light but it didn't help at all, but the yellow light showed the date up pretty nice. Weird, huh?
Doc

[mister_big77]

Mine says Apr ** 31. Since it is so early, it may explain why my documentation from Rider's doesn't quite match up.

Bob