Vintage Store Display

VINTAGE GE ELECTRONIC TUBE STORAGE/DISPLAY CABINET. Rare Piece of Pre-Micro-Chip History! About two years ago, I acquired this item from a cousin. Many years ago he acquired two of these cabinets. He put one of them, in his cellar, where it’s finish stayed in very good condition. This cabinet, however, he threw out into a badly dilapidated, dirt floored, garden shed where is was exposed to the elements. When the opportunity to grab it, was presented to me, I couldn’t resist! As you can see, most of it’s original finish has been replaced by rust, although some of the original gray remains. It’s the kind of patina that only comes with the passage of time. The “GE Electronic Tubes” graphics still look pretty good! These shelving units were used to store an assortment of General Electric vacuum tubes and were always paired with tube testing machines that were free to use by the public. When I was a boy, in the 1960’s, I remember using the testers often until they gradually disappeared from the landscape. Radio Shack seemed to hold onto the machines the longest and we all know what happened to them! Even with the rust it’s still a beautiful piece of advertising and useful piece of history. The worst, of the rust, is on the bottom where it sat on the ground. The only rust through is on the front, rolled edge of the bottom panel (photo #9). There is also a small dent, in the back panel (photo #8), that I could have easily hammered out but I choose to leave it as found. I did coat the whole piece with WD-40 however. I remember the testing machines, and these display, shelving units, looking quite old back in the 1960’s so I’m guessing the cabinet dates to the 1930’s, give or take a decade. The piece measures about 28″ tall, 21″ wide and 8-1/2 deep. Unpaid Items will be cancelled after four calendar days. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Advertising\Merchandise & Memorabilia\Store Displays”. The seller is “auctionformyanimals” and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States.

• Type of Advertising: Steel Cabinet
• Modified Item: No
• Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
• Date of Creation: Circa 1930’s
• Color: Rust w/ Gray
• Brand: General Electric

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