[Ron Ramirez]

Well...a few years ago, I did the research, and posted my findings on the rec.antiques.radio+phono newsgroup.

Here is a copy of that post, from late February 2005:

Okay, you may be surprised at what these sets originally used...

Philco part numbers, for reference:
Large rosette - 03063
Medium rosette - 03064
Small rosette (commonly used for off-on) - 03437
Model 20 tuning knob - 4289-A
Model 20 small knob, off-on and volume - 4290-A

Using Service Bulletin 57 as a reference (issued May 1931), Philco originally calls for Part No. 03196 for the tuning knob. This is either a typo, or an early version of 03064. It also lists Part 4290-A for the volume, off-on and tone controls!

Bulletin 57-A, issued December 1931, lists Part No. 03064 for tuning and 03437 for volume, off-on, and tone. The same knobs are specified in Bulletin 57-B (also December 1931).

I have seen early versions of Model 70 cathedrals (all with brass escutcheons, and some with bakelite escutcheons) that had the knob layout specified in Bulletins 57-A and 57-B, but not 57. In other words, medium rosette for tuning, small rosettes for volume/off-on/tone. On the other hand, what few 70 consoles I've seen had the large rosette for tuning, medium rosettes for volume and tone, small rosette for off-on.

For what it's worth, I recently acquired a very rare Model 35 battery-operated cathedral, in appearance the same as the 70, bakelite escutcheon. It has a medium rosette for tuning, and one small rosette on the tone control (the other knobs are missing). Interestingly enough, though, the service bulletin for Model 35, No. 87 (undated), lists 03063 for the "large" knob and 03064 for the "small" knob! This could account for the two missing knobs on my 35 - perhaps the medium rosette should be on the volume control, the 03437 on the switch, and an 03063 and 03064 are missing?

Philco, most likely, switched to the large/medium/small rosette configuration in later production of 70 cathedrals, Bulletins 57-A and 57-B to the contrary.

Now let's look at the Model 90 cathedral. Bulletin 56, May 1931, lists the following:
Tuning - 4958-A (early part no. for 03063?)
Volume and Tone - 4959-A (early part no. for 03064?)
Off-On - 4290-A (same as Model 20 off-on and volume)

I have seen an early Model 90, brass escutcheon, two Type 45 tubes, that had a 4290-A knob on the power switch.

Bulletin 85 (Model 90 with one Type 47 tube), August 1931, lists the same knobs as Bulletin 56 although they were certainly using 03063, 03064 and 03437 by then.

Bulletin 85-A (Model 90 with two Type 47 tubes), undated, probably January 1932, lists the common 03063 for tuning, 03064 for volume and tone, and 03437 for off-on.

When Models 71 and 91 came onto the market in June 1932, both continued to use knobs 03063 (tuning), 03064 (volume and tone), and 03437 (switch).

This post has been referenced, argued about, discounted, ignored, etc., ad nauseum over the years. All I can say is this: Use, or ignore, the information above as you see fit - and have a nice day.