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This is probably the most complete RE-45 you'll have have the chance to own. I am only the 2nd owner, I purchased it from the original family who owned a large Mansion in the Historic Palmer Woods neighborhood of Detroit. It is still a prestigious community to this day. The machine was bought new in 1929 and sat in the drawing room until the 1940s when it was moved to a room in the unused servants quarters for storage. There it sat under a sheet until I bought it a few years ago. When I arrived to purchase it, I was shocked that it was completely stuffed full of all of the original paperwork, accessories, and come to find out later, much more.
Inside a record bag was a bunch of political letters and memorabilia between the original owner (Kirk Denler) and Senator Taft. There was also a political neck tie, a signed & framed photo of Taft, and some other paperwork shoved inside of the machine. The original oil and grease were present, along with a record catalog, the instruction booklet & sleeve, and an extra 226 Radiotron Tube. In addition, there are several photos of Mr. Denler, all to be included with the machine. I have a document with all of this info that will be included as well. Talk about provenance!
A few things I added to the already very complete lot were the service manual, printing block, several color ads, and a spare working radio chassis, complete with all working tubes.
Onto the machine itself, it is in superb all-original condition inside and out save for a few items of maintenance I will describe momentarily. The machine works flawlessly both on radio and phono and sounds FANTASTIC. The volume and quality will blow you away. It picks up one of our only AM stations loud and clear, and I have had the radio playing for hours on end numerous times without incident.
A few things I have done:
1) Had the pickup rebuilt by George Epple
2) Made a new cloth power cord using the original plugs
3) Cleaned & oiled the motor
4) Cleaned & adjusted the phono volume switch
The electrical components have not been touched, but I have been told by many people that they rarely fail in these. I've had this thing powered on for hundreds of hours over the past several years and never had a single issue. In the event something ever does fail, you can easily swap in the spare while the original is out for repair!
This is located in Royal Oak, MI. I'm happy to help load it or assist with coordinating with a shipper. I may be able to find someone to haul it to Union, but I'd need to ask around soon since it is coming up fast!
Everything you see in the photos will be included with purchase. I have no idea what the political items may be worth, but they came with it so with it they will stay.
