Summer\'s here, or almost here, so crank up the AC and check out the exceptionally cool assortment of mechanical, technological and musical antiques I\'ve got listed on this week, including even more stuff I swore I\'d never sell. Take a look. You won\'t be disappointed. Here\'s a blue ribbon award-winning NESCO SE-143 wide range radio tuner. The battle-tested set was manufactured in Washington, DC in 1918 -- almost three years before the dawn of commercial broadcasting -- and it comes from the collection of renowned radio historian and collector Alan Scott Douglas, author of Radio Manufacturers of the 1920\'s, the 3-volume \"bible\" of early radio collecting. I was told that this was one of Douglas\'s most cherished radios, and judging from the work that went into restoring it (both cosmetically and electrically -- see the amazing restoration diary Mr. Douglas created and affixed to the back of the set), I can understand why it would have been one of the key pieces in his collection.Condition is excellent, as you can see in the photographs. The hard rubber panel is nearly flawless, with no chips, no gouges, no cracks, no scuffs, no issues. Dials, switches, levers and knobs are likewise in excellent condition, and the gearing is working properly on both variable condensers. Coils are immaculate, as is all of the wiring. The cabinet finish is original, and the cabinet itself exhibits the hallmarks of its time at sea -- scattered marks, nicks, holes, age-related cracks, etc. As noted above, and as you can see by reading the restoration info Douglas provides, several of the knobs were re-cast, the main coil was re-wound, and several of the binding posts were custom machined.The beauty of the restoration lies in the fact that it\'s virtually undetectable. Had Douglas had not provided an outline of what he\'d done to bring the set back to life, chances are good that nobody would have ever known. This is likely why he treasured the radio, and why it garnered the special award from the AWA.I was told by a representative of Mr. Douglas\'s estate that the radio still works, and that he used it often, but I don\'t have a stand-alone detector or detector amp with which to test it myself, and even if I did, I probably would never be able to figure out how to set it up for contemporary operation. If you\'re an experienced ham operator or veteran military set user, you should be able to get it to work just as well as it worked when it was new. I do know that to operate the radio you\'ll need -- in addition to a detector or DA -- a regulated power supply (I\'d recommend an ARBE III), a good indoor ground connection, a longwire outdoor antenna (ham radio type -- ideally, about 120 feet long and 20 feet off of the ground), and a pair of vintage high impedance headphones.Needless to say, this is a complicated radio. If you\'ve never operated a similar set before, you will find yourself lost trying to use it.The radio measures approximately 23\" wide by 15\" high by 11\" deep. Shipping weight, properly packed, will be about 70 lb. The cabinet\'s back has been detached from the rest of the cabinet and will be packed separately to prevent damage to the items on the restoration card that is affixed to it.That\'s about it. I will package the radio properly so that it arrives at your doorstep safely. I have been shipping antique phonographs and radios for years, and if you check my response, you\'ll see that I know how to do it correctly. This radio is very large and very heavy, and it cannot be shipped to all countries, so if you\'re located abroad, please contact me in advance so I can confirm my ability to ship it to you. sale participants with no prior response or with hidden response should contact me prior to placing a offer. Thanks.

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