[John Bartley]

Here's an original finish (below) The only thing on this that is not original is the grille cloth.

I've had quite a few that were original, with (as Ron says) some battle damage from five/six/seven decades of life, but certainly nothing to scoff at.

I have another one here (not pictured), a Columbia superhet from 1931 which I purchased from the original owner in 1974.  It has only ever been worked on by me, and the biggest damage on it are the tooth marks from an enthusiastic Westie puppy some 18 years ago.