Destruction of American History: DON'T DO IT.

[Cousin Hepcat]

OK, Thinking about this more...

(1) Looking at this from a strictly Profit-Motive viewpoint: Given that it was NOT Fully Working beforehand, and that the speakers and the amp were missing, it Might Possibly Be more profitable to sell some of the pieces rather than the whole unit. I see by looking at this seller's "completed listings" that he has already sold $300 worth of buy-it-now parts off this one console.

HOWEVER, under normal circumstances, I would still call it a Crime Against Nature to destroy Rare American Antiques such as this unit which was complete and mint-looking except for the amp & speakers. AND, someone on the radios forum noticed that the remaining electronics of the Pre-Amp and Radio Tuner had been restored / re-capped, so the parts which were still there probably WERE all working... I would say someone should take a Slightly Lower Final Price in the interest of Preserving Rare Historic Machines, to sell it at a lower price IN TACT, or even offer to give it away FREE if needed, to local collectors on craigslist or whatever.

(2) BUT, we don't know this guy's circumstances. Looking at the pics where he's holding up stuff, the hands look old. Maybe he's supporting his whole family, or trying to raise money for an operation for his wife who's gonna die otherwise, we don't know his story. These are tough times for lots of people. I prefer to think that's why this ultra-rare example of bygone American quality craftsmanship was chopped up.

Course, I have no idea that's the case, but I prefer to give folks the benefit of the doubt, and at least that'll help me quit thinking about how damn much I would have wanted to have that unit even without the Original speakers & amp...

[huh]

So, I would say... UNLESS SOMEONE IS DYING OR STARVING, PLEASE DON'T DESTROY SOMETHING THIS RARE AND AMAZING.

- CH

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I can't believe anyone would actually buy the parts such as the tone arm, turntable, etc.
Trying to cobble something together from old parts like that seems doomed to failure. Removing a mechanism that's been in the same place for 70 years or more tends to wreck it irrevocably.
Only way something like this is even remotely justified is if most of the object in question is already destroyed beyond repair, with very little remaining.

 

[Nobert]

I have an RCA/Victor cabinet sitting in the back closet that is just taking up space. The guts are gone, it was left out in the rain for a week or so before I got it, I've been telling myself I'll just break it down and save what woodwork can still be salvaged, after all I've still got my 1938 Philco cabinet in the living room (no speaker, but I jury-rigged a modern one in so it functions as a speaker cabinet for the stereo). But it's still a wrench to try and make myself do it.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

It's sad that people can be so heartless.

 

[Mark D]

It's heartbreaking Cousin Hepcat, but greed and idiocy tend to march in tandem. It's not just radios either. As an antiquarian book collector I want to cry every time I see individual leaf from a two or three hundred year old folio being auctioned.

What a gorgeous radio. I can't believe it.

 

[rue]

As an antiquarian book collector I want to cry every time I see individual leaf from a two or three hundred year old folio being auctioned.

Even worse is the new trend to rip off the cover of antique books.

 

[Mark D]

Even worse is the new trend to rip off the cover of antique books.

They rip 'em up. They break up collections and sell of the volumes individually. Just like the radio that triggered this thread, in the end it's all about greed; and usually misguided greed at that.

 

[Tomasso]

It could be worse....

 

[Shangas]

People are often blind to real value.

They strip the nib off of a 100-year-old fountain pen worth $500, to get the gold worth $10.

People only see value in what they believe is valuable, not what actually IS valuable. If that makes any sense.

They'll always be out there.

That's why all the nice stuff is locked in museums. To prevent this from happening.

 

[Travis Lee Johnston]

Historic cars are a prime example of this. Like Rodney Dangerfield, get no respect. Whether it be other drivers who look at them as nothing but old transportation, or clueless people who buy these vehicles, rip out perfectly good steering columns and interiors to put in a mini van or 80's hot rod set up. Slap on easter egg paint. Paint over the chrome. What a disgrace.

 

[C-dot]

Even worse is the new trend to rip off the cover of antique books.

I saw in my paper that a local artist was taking antique books, tearing them up, and folding the pages into these little sculpture things. She would use one entire book for each piece. If I wasn't angry enough at that, I read this caption under one of them: "and this one is made from a first edition of Gone With the Wind - What a great tribute to history." :rage:

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Mindless vandalism at best,...and she thinks she is "creating" something by destroying a rare book? :eusa_doh:

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I saw in my paper that a local artist was taking antique books, tearing them up, and folding the pages into these little sculpture things. She would use one entire book for each piece. If I wasn't angry enough at that, I read this caption under one of them: "and this one is made from a first edition of Gone With the Wind - What a great tribute to history." :rage:

As a book dealer that enrages me to no end. Whenever I come across art books, especially the oversize ones, I have to examine them carefully because morons frequently cut the pages out of them!

 

[rue]

I saw in my paper that a local artist was taking antique books, tearing them up, and folding the pages into these little sculpture things. She would use one entire book for each piece. If I wasn't angry enough at that, I read this caption under one of them: "and this one is made from a first edition of Gone With the Wind - What a great tribute to history." :rage:

A first edition of Gone With The Wind?? :eeek: I don't even have words.......

 

[LizzieMaine]

Didn't you hear? Books are obsolete.

 

[C-dot]

Didn't you hear? Books are obsolete.

Actually, that's exactly what the artist thought: "With the availability of most books for e-readers, traditional books take up too much space and collect dust. I wanted to find a way to recycle these books for a good use."

Where is my crowbar?

 

[LizzieMaine]

One good use might be to apply said book with sharp force to the top of the head of the speaker.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I think that your friend was naive (or feigning so) to be unaware of the demands put upon wardrobe in filmmaking, especially action films.

I disagree with you. The pieces that my friend Ben sold to the "Titanic" folks had come out of six trunks where they'd been stored since the early '30s. They'd belonged to a wealthy Kentucky family, and most of the trunks' ball gowns, lawn dresses and walking suits had been made in Paris. Ben tried to sell them to vintage enthusiasts, but the pieces were too expensive for them. He also tried to sell them to Barbra Streisand -- a world-class collector of Victorian/Edwardian clothing-- but Streisand wasn't buying at that time. Finally, he offered them to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, but the museum only wanted to buy clothes by Worth, Poiret, Molyneux, etc.


If you'd seen the quality of the stuff that "Titanic" got from Ben, you, too, would have assumed that the filmmakers would've spared them the disaster scenes. (After all, most of the movie's scenes take place before the sinking begins!) They were the kind of clothes -- utterly beautiful, well made, and in pristine condition-- that could have been reused for future films. Why utterly destroy THEM?

 

[rue]

Didn't you hear? Books are obsolete.

Apparently not, since I'm surrounded by stacks of them in my living room waiting to go on my shelves..... In fact as I look around, I guess everything I own is obsolete.

 

[rue]

Actually, that's exactly what the artist thought: "With the availability of most books for e-readers, traditional books take up too much space and collect dust. I wanted to find a way to recycle these books for a good use."

Where is my crowbar?

She's a moron.