Old Radio Speakers - 1Earth Antiques and Appraisals Magazine

Dear 1Earth Antiques,
My great-aunt, who lived in a very simple house in Maine, never threw anything out. When she moved into one of her son's houses, at the age of 92, she had checks and bank statements going back 40 years. She gave me an old radio speaker cabinet, though I don't really know anything about it. There are no labels inside. Can you give me some information? The cloth weaving that was once on the front was shredded by my daughter. Does that affect the value?

— A.D.

Dear A.D.,
The good news is the destruction of the cloth cover didn't destroy the value of your speaker cabinet, the bad news is only very rare speaker cabinets in their original condition are valuable. Unfortunately, your speaker wasn't made by any of the top manufacturers.

The purpose of that cloth cover that your daughter shredded? It was just decorative. The cloth softens the sound a little, but its primary purpose was hiding the speaker. If it was tapestry or a very decorative and irreplaceable fabric, it might have been worth something, but that's unlikely.

Now, it's not entirely true that your speaker cabinet has only sentimental value. The average collector probably wouldn't find it interesting, but it may be valuable to someone who is looking for that particular cabinet and has the correct speaker to fit it.