I think it depends on what you want. I have a 1933 version 36cm that I bought based on the Heliar mystique, and for my taste it's too harsh, a rendering I'd call squeaky clean, for lack of a better set of words. I've come to prefer the softer tonal (not a lack of sharpness at all!) rendering of Tessars, and have bought a 10x12 B&L Tessar (375mm/4.5) of about the same vintage that I have not yet set up, but hope to compare with the Heliar, sooner or later. Here's my Heliar,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/michae...n/16979231405/ and there are several other examples on my Flickr page. Most of them are "scanned" with my Nikon D300, so they're not as sharp as the actual lens, but you can see the edgy tonality, anyway. I gather that Heliars are recognized for their out of focus rendering, but I prefer the Tessar there, too.
For contrast, the more creamy rendering of a 30cm/6.3 Ilex Paragon (Tessar):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/michae...posted-public/
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