My 2¢ worth:
The set is certainly newer than 1949.
To give a broad idea of it's actual age, I have a midsummer 1956 small SR catalog with a set that looks a lot like this one.
The seller is asking way to much for this set.
"Rare" is relative. This is NO TRK-12, Pilot or Royal Soverign, of course, and, twenty years ago, there were hundreds of thousands of sets like this that were being kept by their owners, who believed they were "rare".
In recent years, circuit failures, owners moving, and owners passing away have been gradually taking these sets out of circulation. B&W consoles/consolettes without integral implosion shield CRTs are not necessarily rare - but none of them are truly common, anymore, either.
I would say this is a set still worth saving (if the owner offers it free or almost free).
Rob.
happily watching an Emerson 1224 - see it in action here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTW-JUQQPRY