[Ron Ramirez]

Along this line of discussion, Michael Prosise asked me to post these comments:

"I am not opposed to the refinishing of radio cabinets, with the exception of Philco's hand-painted '511 Series'. This opinion is not because I own the entire collection. It is because these are individual works of art, each one slightly different than another of the same model number. Refinishing or reproducing them, in my view, takes away the unique artistic and historical value.

In my opinion it's a matter of preservation of the past. These hand-painted cabinets are something no one can exactly replicate, for each is unique. These particular sets, if replicated, would be fake, and thus all of us collectively lose a valuable part of our radio design heritage. In this regard the model number means nothing, for it can be totally eliminated by simply removing the entire chassis shield upon which the service data is stamped. We as collectors (and our hobby) will become less the richer for it in the end.

What happens should they be offered for sale as the 'real thing'? We cannot control whose hands they may eventually fall in to. My opinion is not meant to reflect negatively on the integrity or honesty of any person within our radio collecting hobby who has or intends to reproduce these cabinets. Please, your comments are welcome."