Last week I was making my usual rounds at the Antique malls and Thrift shops within a 30 mile radius of my home. I stopped into one and inquired about vintage audio equipment. A woman replied, "Have I got the the person for you!" and she immediately called her friend. I set up a meeting with this woman who's great uncle was an Audiophile. He has been deceased for years now, but he spent his life as a bachelor, obsessing over audio equipment. So I met with this woman expecting to find 20 or so radios, some test equipment, tubes etc. What I walked into is unreal. The house is 100 years old, delapidated, (she is planning on rennovating it)roof falling apart. It is FILLED to the point of not being able to walk through it with piles of antique radio amps, radios, cases, speakers, pots, tubes, etc. There are piles of amplifiers lying in rubble. 300,000 or more vacuum tubes. The man has boxes of individual tube types. For example, there is a box with 300+ '47' tubes. He has field speakers with magnets as big as my head. I've seen Atwater Kent amps and speakers lying in the piles. I grabbed an Eico ST70 with Mullard tubes (on of the most modern of all the amps in the building.) He has the Sam's Photofacts in a Sam's filing cabinet, and most amps have the tube, the year, and the photofact number written on the back of the amp. I've found Telefunken ech42 tubes with metal bases lying loose underneath some junk, some were broken. I've found a NOS RCA 45 made for Montgomery Ward Airline still stapled in the original box (the ones where you could test the tube without removing it.) It has never seen the light of day. Amps date from the 20's on up. I am overwhelmed. She wants to start renovating the house this summer and was to the point of ditching this stuff into dumpsters. I made a deal with her that I'd work to unload it in an effort to preserve vintage obselete equipment, but I am somewhat limited in my knowledge of what is valuable and what is not. While I'd like to research everything, there is just not the time to do so. I was wondering if you guys could give me information on the most valuable brands and types of tubes, amps, speakers etc. If there are any radio cases you desire, I have plenty! What brands should I be looking for first? I know some of them like Atwater Kent, Western Electric etc.. but could you guys throw me out some names? What vintage tubes are the most rare and of the most value? Please help!
Hard to tell what is valuable without having more information. 300 #47 tubes are worth saving. A new 47 tube would be worth around $20.
Atwater Kent breadboards are valuable but Model 40 isn't worth much even though I collect them.
Best bet would be to save everything until you figure out what's in the pile. If you are limited for time & space rent a storage building for a month or so.. Don't keep a storage building for years. Rent can add up to more than radio value.
Norm
:Please, people of Nostalgia air, I desperately need your help. What I walked into yesterday was unreal, and in an effort to preserve incredible vintage tube audio I really need your expertise. I fell head ovr heels in love with Tube Audio only 6 months ago and have since populated my home with vintage equipment, and while I have learned much in a short time, I am in way above my head in the current situation. Here's my story.
:
:Last week I was making my usual rounds at the Antique malls and Thrift shops within a 30 mile radius of my home. I stopped into one and inquired about vintage audio equipment. A woman replied, "Have I got the the person for you!" and she immediately called her friend. I set up a meeting with this woman who's great uncle was an Audiophile. He has been deceased for years now, but he spent his life as a bachelor, obsessing over audio equipment. So I met with this woman expecting to find 20 or so radios, some test equipment, tubes etc. What I walked into is unreal. The house is 100 years old, delapidated, (she is planning on rennovating it)roof falling apart. It is FILLED to the point of not being able to walk through it with piles of antique radio amps, radios, cases, speakers, pots, tubes, etc. There are piles of amplifiers lying in rubble. 300,000 or more vacuum tubes. The man has boxes of individual tube types. For example, there is a box with 300+ '47' tubes. He has field speakers with magnets as big as my head. I've seen Atwater Kent amps and speakers lying in the piles. I grabbed an Eico ST70 with Mullard tubes (on of the most modern of all the amps in the building.) He has the Sam's Photofacts in a Sam's filing cabinet, and most amps have the tube, the year, and the photofact number written on the back of the amp. I've found Telefunken ech42 tubes with metal bases lying loose underneath some junk, some were broken. I've found a NOS RCA 45 made for Montgomery Ward Airline still stapled in the original box (the ones where you could test the tube without removing it.) It has never seen the light of day. Amps date from the 20's on up. I am overwhelmed. She wants to start renovating the house this summer and was to the point of ditching this stuff into dumpsters. I made a deal with her that I'd work to unload it in an effort to preserve vintage obselete equipment, but I am somewhat limited in my knowledge of what is valuable and what is not. While I'd like to research everything, there is just not the time to do so. I was wondering if you guys could give me information on the most valuable brands and types of tubes, amps, speakers etc. If there are any radio cases you desire, I have plenty! What brands should I be looking for first? I know some of them like Atwater Kent, Western Electric etc.. but could you guys throw me out some names? What vintage tubes are the most rare and of the most value? Please help!
http://www.estesauctions.com
My humble opinion for what it's worth: If you find an AK tonebeam neon lamp, let me know what it's worth to ya. :o)
Anyhoo, I'd suggest making the owner an offer for the entire lot. Reason I say this... few people who are in need of moving a large collection are willing to part it out. So prepare yourself to move it all, clean up afterwards and sort through it later.
It isn't gonna be easy, trust me. I've done this many times before. Load up on used cardboard cartons and pack all the small pieces that way. Bigger stuff may moved piecemeal. Get some folks to help and make as many trips as you need to.
Now comes the important part: Storage. Do you have the space, the means of transport and the help you'll need to get all this stuff loaded out of the house and into a temporary location for staging? If you don't have the space, does someone you know have it? A relative or friend, perhaps? Does someone have an empty barn you can use?
Your first priority is getting the lot moved. You have a lot of money setting there. It may be in your best interest to rent a truck and a storage locker and move it all to the locker where you may sort through it and inventory the lot at your leisure. Broken stuff may then be discarded.
The online auction sites may be your best bet for moving the things you'd prefer to part with. While it's true that selling individual tubes and other components can fetch more money it's also true that large lots of parts tend to move well to collectors and restorers. Once the items begin selling, you will recoup your moving and storage expenses. Then you may decide to make other arrangements for storage.
To conclude, if it were me, this is what I'd do. I would NEVER let a collection of this scope get away. That's money on the table... and when someone puts money on the table, ol Wolfster don't walk away. ;) I'd store it on pallets under tarps in the back yard if I had no other choice. But I would not let it get away, trust me on this one. :o)
Hope it helps.
Dave
Bill VA
:Where are you located? There may be a local radio club nearby that would be willing to help.
:
:Dave
Maybe he is very busy cataloging those 300,000 tubes or those 1000 speakers. Sure would like to know what the plans are for that treasure trove..........
______________________________________________________
:Please, people of Nostalgia air, I desperately need your help. What I walked into yesterday was unreal, and in an effort to preserve incredible vintage tube audio I really need your expertise. I fell head ovr heels in love with Tube Audio only 6 months ago and have since populated my home with vintage equipment, and while I have learned much in a short time, I am in way above my head in the current situation. Here's my story.
:
:Last week I was making my usual rounds at the Antique malls and Thrift shops within a 30 mile radius of my home. I stopped into one and inquired about vintage audio equipment. A woman replied, "Have I got the the person for you!" and she immediately called her friend. I set up a meeting with this woman who's great uncle was an Audiophile. He has been deceased for years now, but he spent his life as a bachelor, obsessing over audio equipment. So I met with this woman expecting to find 20 or so radios, some test equipment, tubes etc. What I walked into is unreal. The house is 100 years old, delapidated, (she is planning on rennovating it)roof falling apart. It is FILLED to the point of not being able to walk through it with piles of antique radio amps, radios, cases, speakers, pots, tubes, etc. There are piles of amplifiers lying in rubble. 300,000 or more vacuum tubes. The man has boxes of individual tube types. For example, there is a box with 300+ '47' tubes. He has field speakers with magnets as big as my head. I've seen Atwater Kent amps and speakers lying in the piles. I grabbed an Eico ST70 with Mullard tubes (on of the most modern of all the amps in the building.) He has the Sam's Photofacts in a Sam's filing cabinet, and most amps have the tube, the year, and the photofact number written on the back of the amp. I've found Telefunken ech42 tubes with metal bases lying loose underneath some junk, some were broken. I've found a NOS RCA 45 made for Montgomery Ward Airline still stapled in the original box (the ones where you could test the tube without removing it.) It has never seen the light of day. Amps date from the 20's on up. I am overwhelmed. She wants to start renovating the house this summer and was to the point of ditching this stuff into dumpsters. I made a deal with her that I'd work to unload it in an effort to preserve vintage obselete equipment, but I am somewhat limited in my knowledge of what is valuable and what is not. While I'd like to research everything, there is just not the time to do so. I was wondering if you guys could give me information on the most valuable brands and types of tubes, amps, speakers etc. If there are any radio cases you desire, I have plenty! What brands should I be looking for first? I know some of them like Atwater Kent, Western Electric etc.. but could you guys throw me out some names? What vintage tubes are the most rare and of the most value? Please help!
Thomas