Featured Stickley Table Radio - Cherry Valley?

Hello,
My main collecting interest is tube radio collecting and restoration. I have recently acquired a very interesting piece which is a Stickley accent table of some sort with a Philco 45C 'Butterfly' radio installed. I was thrilled to find this piece. The radio will be the easy part. I can date the radio chassis to June 1934 through June 1935. I am trying to date the table and need advice on the finish condition.

The table is 18" wide x 13" deep x 28" tall. The underside has Stickley Fayetteville Syracuse mark, a stamped number 3100 and a handwritten number 8293. The 3100 is also stamped under the top. The piece is likely from the Cherry Valley line. I have written the historian at Stickley and have not heard back yet. Any advice on researching the piece to date it would be helpful. The finish is the main concern. You can see in the pics, that finish has come off which appears to be toned lacquer. There is also some touch up areas and possibly an area on the top where someone tried to re-amalgamate the finish. Still probably 80% of the original finish is there so I am thinking to use a good paste wax with some oil base stain and see if I can cover some of this up.

Since the table finish has been tampered with, is paste wax the best advice or go ahead and wipe the finish off with lacquer thinner, apply toned lacquer and finish in a satin clear?
thanks
Dave

 

These are just observations without answers. This appears to be the same piece that they are saying Cherry Valley 3100 but without doors.

On looking at your photos I'm actually seeing 3106 (I think) but could be just the way it's stamped. I'm wondering if it was offered with and without doors or if you can tell if your doors actually match the color and construction of the rest of your piece. The way the doors are set it I'm guessing original (I think) but I'm no expert.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/stickley-cherry-valley-table-3100-2019094490

 

Hey Dave:

Welcome! The radio cabinet looks to be ca. 1930s as well. The numbers are probably just internal reference numbers for Stickley.

I'd try Howards Restor-a-Finish to clean up the cabinet's walnut finish, then Howard's Feed n' Wax to maintain it. Great stuff!

 

L. & J.G. Stickley Brand 1925–1985
This brand is the most common Stickley shop mark. It is used on almost every piece of furniture made by Stickley for 60 years, including all of the Cherry Valley furniture from the mid-20th Century.

 

Ask 5 different people get 5 different answers.
I'd go with refinishing if it was mine and planned on keeping it

 

Good morning and thanks for the information so far. So first, finding the table on Worthopedia was great - nothing was coming up using Google search engine. Regarding the doors, they do not look correct for the cabinet. The color is off, wood grain is different, plywood construction, the outer surface is where the serious flaking is occurring. I think Stickley was know for solid wood construction but doors can be a different matter. However, the doors appear to have vintage hardware looking at the knobs. Hinges and screws are aged and made of brass. The right door is wider than the left door to accomodate a 3/16" bead located at the center. Solid brass ball catches were put into the bottom of the cabinet and the retainers were mortised into the bottom of the doors. Again much older hardware than what is available today. I used to be active in woodworking specifically arts and crafts.

I have also removed the radio chassis now and noticed some strips added on the bottom left and right inside the cabinet held in with screws. They look like basswood with a square tongue using a dado cut. The radio chassis mounts to a plywood base that has corresponding grooves and slides in and out through the front.

I will post some pics of these details later today but I am thinking Stickley did not do the retrofit. However, it is known in the radio collecting area that furniture dealers would adapt a radio to a piece occasionally. Whoever did this work was a woodworker and used good techniques. Could have been a cabinet shop.

Dave

 

Welcome to the group Dave K. I also collect and restore radios. My main emphasis is on old Zenith and Philco console radios as well as old tube-type ham radios like Hammarlund and Hallicrafters. Soulds like yours is definitely a marriage. Well done it appears.

 

I wanted to provide an update on the Stickley Table with Philco radio project. First, after disassembling the top and cabinet doors, there is simply too much damage - a lot of lacquer flaking on the doors and top, 2 areas where lacquer thinner was applied with a rag and 3 areas of a red toned lacquer overspray in various spouts. It simply does not look good and likely is beyond reasonable repair so I have started stripping the table. Its too bad it is in this condition but I want the radio to look right and that is the path I am on. The table by itself is not expensive based on the same table auctioned late last year.

I have documented the radio though and it is indeed, 1930's. I was searching for Stickley catalogs and a Stickley Early Amercan furniture catalog from December, 1931 came up on ebay. I contacted the seller and it contained a Stickley 3100 table that matched. It is cherry and maple with either an Early American or Cherry finish and retailed for $25. The table was a telephone stand. Given the radio and table were new at the same time period, how good the quality of the adding the doors & radio, I suspect a cabinet shop did this for a dealer as a custom piece but will never be able to prove it. Still this catalog was a great find to document what I have! It will be a little while before the next post but will keep the forum updated.

Dave

 

Wow. This is great info! Thanks so much for sharing. I have the same table and was trying to find out more info. This was a huge help!