Vintage Tube Radio Cabinet Repurposed

 

Notice something a little different standing in the corner, behind our new chairs?  We bought an antique vacuum tube radio cabinet.

 

We don't know how old it is, but according to the sweet fellow who repurposed and sold it to me, it was probably built in the mid- to late 1930s.  He thinks it was crafted for a wealthy family because of the expensive (especially for that time) details.

 

One detail in particular is the caned back:

 

 

Apparently, most cabinets had an open back (where you could see all the radio parts) but this one does not.

 

I wonder about the stories this cabinet might tell.  I imagine that the family that owned this, like much of the country in the late 1930s, sat around their radios listening to FDR's fireside chats, sporting events and vaudeville shows.  Did they listen to Orson Welles broadcast "War of the Worlds" in 1938?  Did they run to their windows looking for Martians?!

 

By the time I bought the cabinet last month, it had long lost its tubes (radio parts) and had been converted into a liquor cabinet.  It's perfect for holding our wine and other spirits!

 

 

A closer look at the vintage pink wine and champagne glasses, and vintage silver tray my daughter gave me for my birthday a couple of months ago:

 

 

Thinking I may need to hit the flea markets to find a couple of those old, gorgeous seltzer bottles to sit atop the cabinet.  In the meantime, a few of my sea shells collected from our time in Florida are placeholders.

 

To celebrate my new find, I just might put a Glenn Miller CD on and sip a glass of wine tonight.  Cheers!