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Favorite Crosley -And a Mystery

6/19/2021

4 Comments

 
IN a previous post I mentioned that one of my favorite Zeniths is the 1937 5-S-127. It was far from top-of-the-line, in fact,, closer to the bottom. I suppose that the real attraction is the cabinet design, though the radio is not bad for only having 5 tubes.

The Crosley 6H2 is probably my favorite Crosley. Like the Zenith, it is the cabinet design with a not-too-bad radio that appeals to me. And, like the zenith, it seemed to have been popular at the time of sale. Far from the WLW (or stratosphere), it has good performance in a 6-tube chassis.
Picture
There is some confusion over the number of this model. Instead of giving it a name, like Buddy Boy, Crosley used a model number. 6H2 was assigned to the chassis and this is usually the "Model" on the tag, though there are certainly variations of this chassis. In some cases the model is called the 61 which seems to refer to the radio/cabinet configuration. Confusion is amplified by the question of model-year. I call the radio above a 1934 model, but there were likely to have been versions of this radio sold several years later

I did replace the broken pointer after this picture was taken..
Picture
Above: Typical version of the 6H2/61 with router work on the side panel, partially covered by a solid wood panel. (which often cracks/splits as solid wood panels often do)
Picture
The chassis on this radio is also a 6H2. The cabinet, though toned slightly different, and with different veneers, is missing both the decorative enhancements(?) on the sides. It appears to have been sold this way - rather than modified.
So, the real mystery, for me, is  - Why did they change this popular cabinet during its production run?
Picture
Picture
I have always wondered why Crosley slapped the hardwood panel over the top of the scroll work.. Possibly more to the point, why did they do the scroll work in the first place? It was not a common feature of radio cabinets at the time. It would have cost production time/money (which Crosley was famous for conserving). Was the original  appearance so objectionable (to somebody) that it needed to be covered by the panel which would have cost more time and money?
Picture
The radio cabinet without the enhancements appears to be produced later than the more common version. Did they finally run out of cabinets with the panel and just decide to skip the whole thing? Or was the change made simply to save production costs?

What do you think?

​Russ
4 Comments
Arran
6/21/2021 04:59:23 am

Russ;
Did Crosley produce their cabinets in house, in their own cabinet shop, or did they contract it out as Brand Z was known to do? What species of veneer was used on the side of the earlier cabinets, poplar? Maple? The reason I ask is that maybe an outside firm made a batch of cabinets, and Mr. Crosley didn't like the look. Either
that or they bought surplus cabinets from somewhere and modified them so they wouldn't be confused with the original sets that used the same cabinets. Has an example ever been found without the extra trim parts but the scroll work?
That scroll work with a router I have seen on a lot of Canadian Grimes-Phonola/Electrohome sets, usually to mimic a panel look in solid lumber. Usually this was followed by a dark lacquer around the perimeter to highlight the rails, and stiles from the panel portion. That company in particular had their own furniture plant, even making dining room sets, so they could make anything they wanted to order.

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Russ
6/21/2021 09:00:27 am

I have restored a lot of these for other people or just to sell. The only two that I still have are those pictured above.

Those solid wood side trim are very likely to split and I know that at one time I had one with the panel removed - or falling off. It has been some years ago and I did not take a picture. And I cant remember what it looked like. At that time I had not seen a cabinet without the scroll work/panel.

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CUSTOM DESIGN BY SUE WEBB  06/2013       Redesigned by Russ Webb     Approved by Fuzzy   Updated:  Pretty much all the time, but I forget to change this date
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