Eric's 18th Annual Antique Radio Auction
Olney, Illinois -- October 28, 2007

REPORTED BY RON RAMIREZ

Web Edition

It is somewhat hard to believe that so many years have passed since Eric Bruner held his very first auction of antique radios and accessories. But although 18 years have passed, this annual tradition continues to hold its own in the face of strong online competition in the form of eBay.

The auction was held at Eric's Auction Barn, located at 1000 Southwest, just one mile north of U.S. Rte. 50, in Olney, Illinois.

The quality of the items offered has varied over the years. There were no Catalin radios or Atwater Kent breadboards at this year's sale. That being said, however, the overall quality of the items was up from the past two years. There were more cathedral and tombstone models, a lot more wooden table models, and a lot fewer 1950s and 1960s plastic model radios.

An unusual early battery set, this Dray receiver featured 1-dial tuning, a meter, and used Type 199 tubes. It sold for $140.

Collectors attend this annual sale mostly from Central and Southern Illinois, although vehicles in the parking lot were spotted with license plates from Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and as far away as Tennessee, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The Ohio plate probably belonged to noted tube collector and seller Bob Dobush, who was one of the ringmen at this year's sale.

Highlights of the sale included an E.H. Scott Allwave 15 with a rusty chassis, housed in a wooden cabinet which had been damaged and had delaminating veneer. Nevertheless, it was still the top moneymaker at $270. Other highlights included a loose coupler mounted on a wide board, with cat's whisker detector and Chelsea variable condenser at $210; an RCA Radiola AC 2-stage amplifier, also at $210; a Westinghouse RC (RA-DA) at $180; and a Jackson-Bell 62 which, despite its stripped cabinet and mismatched knobs, also brought $180.

Here's hoping that this annual tradition is still going strong 18 years hence. A sampling of the items sold is listed below.

Most items were in good condition; any exceptions are noted. Prices have been rounded up to the nearest dollar.

e=excellent, vg=very good, f=fair, p=poor, wk=working, WT=with tubes, NT=no tubes. Some low cost items and items in poor condition or nonspecific descriptions are omitted. See print version for complete auction listing.

This Skyrover cathedral sold for $70.

Another early piece -- a Radiola AC, 2-tube, audio amplifier, built for RCA by Westinghouse. Complete with tubes, it sold for $210.

A warning: Auction prices are not current values. Our selection of auction items is not necessarily complete. A listing such as this cannot adequately include the condition of cabinets, chassis, transformers, tubes, the operating status of the set, and the inclusion of incorrect, restored or replica components, etc. Auction prices are the result of the excitement of the auction process, the skill of the auctioneer and the specific interests of the participants. Nevertheless, auction prices serve as useful references and as another element in the value determining process. The possibility of error always exists, and if we are notified, corrections will be reported.