Western Historic Radio Museum

Vintage Table-Top Radios

Classic Thirties, Pre-War Plastics and Novelties

1930 - 1950s

photo:  Yeah, I know,... it's not from the thirties.  Ollie is holding a 1924 portable RCA Radiola 24 - The photo is titled "The Arrival of Talking Pictures" - simply a great photo.

Philco

Model 90

Is the Philco 90 the quintessential vintage radio? Certainly it is what most non-collectors visualize as an "antique" radio. Introduced in 1931, the nine-tube superheterodyne chassis was considered a console radio in a table cabinet by many advertisers. The first models had Push-Pull 45s for audio outputs. Later, AVC was added and a single 47 supplied the output. Most cabinets will have the month and date of manufacture stamped on the bottom. Original selling price was $69.50. The sound quality is excellent and the styling timeless.

Atwater-Kent

Model 84

The Atwater-Kent Model 84 featured a "classic" cathedral styled cabinet with booked, figured walnut veneer front and linear walnut veneer sides. The six-tube superheterodyne receiver was built on a nickel-plated chassis. The speaker was an eight-inch electrodynamic giving the AK 84 excellent sound quality. It was a popular model with two AC versions available, (60Hz "Standard - no letter" and 25Hz  "F" type) and two DC versions available, (110vdc "D" type and battery "Q" type), plus variations between early and late models in all versions. The AK 84 originally sold for $69.95 in 1931.

Echophone Radio, Inc.

Model S-4

Echophone was a popular trade name used by several companies during the twenties. Echophone Radio, Inc. was located in Chicago and eventually was purchased by William Halligan to help form Hallicrafters. The Model S-4 is from 1931 and is a six tube TRF that utilizes an eight inch Jensen speaker and Gothic styling that was popular in the late twenties and early thirties. Thumb-wheel tuning was a popular method for tuning that lasted for a short time in the early thirties. Usually the wear is severe and even if the system works, tuning is not very accurate.

Pilot Radio & Tube Corporation

Super-Wasp Converter - No. 40672

By the time this Shortwave Converter was available, Pilot Radio & Tube Corporation had moved from its longtime location of Brooklyn, New York to Lawrence. Massachusetts. The move was a financial disaster and Pilot went bankrupt but did reform into Pilot Radio and Television shortly thereafter. The Super-Wasp Converter was a kit that was available around 1930 or so. Cabinets could be purchased to house the completed converter. As to its use, one would connect an antenna to the converter and then connect the converter output terminals to the radio set's antenna terminals. The radio would be tuned to the IF output of the converter and then two things happened. First, you could now tune in Shortwave signals on five different ranges and control the volume (sensitivity) at the converter. Second, if your radio was a TRF set (like most were in 1930) you now had an operational, all-wave superheterodyne. SW converters were only popular for a short time around 1930 - 1932, by 1933 most radios included a shortwave band.

Atwater-Kent

Model 165

Atwater-Kent offered this five tube receiver in 1933 for the low price of $29.90. Featuring a very delicate fretwork on the grille, a nickel-plated chassis and a large eight-inch speaker, the 165 provided the user excellent sound with a beautiful gothic-styled cabinet.  Police calls could be received by switching the combination Tone-Police control to Police. The switch shorted a few turns on the coils to shift the frequency somewhat higher. No calibration was provided on the Police frequencies. The circuit uses a 57 converter, a 58 IF amp, a 2A6 Det/AVC/1st AF Amp, a 2A5 Audio Output and an 80 rectifier.

Crosley Radio Corp.

Model 148

Crosley got a lot of use out of their "Fiver" circuit. It was available in several different cabinet styles and finishes. The 148 is a five tube superheterodyne in a stylish "cathedral" cabinet that demonstrated Crosley's ability to provide good performance at a reasonable price. It is interesting that the "cathedral" style was originally dubbed as "midget set." Collectors have adapted "cathedral" as it is more descriptive of the radio's appearance.

Jackson-Bell Company

Six-Tube TRF

Jackson-Bell started in business in 1926 but they are best known for their "Midget Sets" of the early thirties. All Jackson-Bell radios were built at the Gilfillan Bros., Inc. plant in Los Angeles, California due to Gilfillan's exclusive licensing arrangement with RCA.  The J-B radio shown is probably from 1932 and has the appearance of a Model 86 but its circuitry is quite different using three 24s, two 47s (in parallel) and an 80 rectifier. J-B began offering superhets in 1931 and 1932 but continued to invest heavily in TRF parts. In late 1932, too much money had been spent on unusable parts and the company went bankrupt. By 1933, Herb Bell had formed Packard-Bell.

Stewart-Warner

Model 1252 - "Berkley"

Stewart-Warner might be better known for automobile gauges and speedometers but they also had been building radios since the mid-twenties before introducing the "Berkley", or Model 1252, in 1934. The unusual cabinet design featured a two-tone finish along with a black japan top and included an asymmetrical grille that was reminiscent of the Art Nouveau style along with a curved buttress forming the lower half of the cabinet. The chassis was a five-tube superhet with AM-BC and one shortwave band (6 to 17MC) and had an unusual tuned antenna preselector stage. Tubes used were 6A7, 6D6, 75, 41 and 80. The eight-inch speaker resulted in excellent sound quality.

Coronado - Gamble-Skogmo Inc.

Model 675

Coronado was the brand name for radios sold at the Gamble stores. As with all large stores dealing in a variety of merchandise, Coronado radios were built by contractors, in this case Belmont Radio. In fact, the Belmont 675 is identical to this Coronado except for the small name tag below the tuning knob. The cabinet features a bird's-eye maple center flanked by walnut pilasters with marquetry trim. The six tube chassis tunes AM-BC and one Shortwave band. Dates from 1934. This Coronado 675 spent most of its days here in Virginia City and belonged to the neighbor down the street.

RCA Victor

Model 143

The 143 was RCA Victor's deluxe table radio for 1934. Featuring four bands with continuous coverage from 140Kc to 18Mc, it was considered a table top, all-wave receiver. The eight-tube chassis used Push-Pull 42s driving an 8" speaker.   The over-sized cabinet is sometimes referred to as a "shouldered-tombstone." Grand proportions, burl veneer pilasters and great performance make the 143 an impressive radio.

Sears-Silvertone

Model 4569

The Sears-Roebuck Co. had Colonial Radio Co. build this beautiful Silvertone Model 4569 "Cube" radio for the 1937 model year. Great styling featuring a huge gold dial with tuning-eye and multi-curved cabinet. Supposedly, the gold dial use on many of the 1937 model year Silvertone radios was to celebrate Sear's 50th anniversary in business. This radio is an all-original example, even all of the original "Silvertone" tubes are present.

Emerson

Model 153

The 1937 Emerson Model 153 features a cabinet built by Ingraham, a company famous for clocks and compound curve cabinets. A few other manufacturers also used Ingraham for their cabinets. Emerson was never a company to let lack of parts stop production. It is rare to find an Emerson chassis that adheres to their published documentation.

Philco

Model 38-620

Philco utilized this "bullet-shaped" cabinet for several models in the 1937 and 1938 production years. The various chassis used were either five or six tube circuits with AC or DC versions, normally with an 8" speaker. The shape and size of the cabinet (plus the speaker size) results in fabulous sound quality for a table radio. Great performance with a dial readout that is the usual "Philco accurate." The 38-620 was a six tube circuit with Standard AM BC and two Shortwave Bands.

Colonial

Model 300

The Colonial Model 300 from 1933 has a cabinet made of Durez, which is similar to bakelite but with coarser filler material. Durez was used extensively for molded ash trays. Highly polished nickel plated trim makes the Model 300 a stunning radio.

Emerson

Model 149

Emerson's 1936 Model 149 was available in cabinets made of brown bakelite, white or black plaskon or a combination black and white plaskon. The radio circuit uses five tubes and covers AM and Police Band (1.7-4.0 Mc.)

Detrola

Model 197 - "Pee-Wee"

The Detrola Pee-Wee Model 197 was the hit of the New York Radio Show in 1939. This example is in "Beetle" Plaskon with red knobs and feet. Pee-Wees also were available in many other colors and color combinations, however the small cabinet often cracked or became distorted due to the heat of the tubes.

Detrola

  207 Converter - "Pee-Wee"

An accessory that was available in some areas was the VHF (Very High Frequency) Converter in the Pee-Wee case, Model 207. By the late thirties, many cites had switched their police radio communications to higher frequencies, especially the radio transmitters installed in police cars. This little converter allowed the user to hear both sides of the police call, (if you had a separate radio for receiving the Police Station transmitter.)

Wards-Airline

  Model 62-228   - "Miracle"

The 1938 Airline "Miracle" Model 62-228 is a bakelite case radio with mechanical push button tuning and cathode-ray tuning indicator. Intricate castings were popular to demonstrate the advantages modern plastics had over other materials. Built by Belmont for Wards.

Motorola

Model 50-XC-3

The Motorola "Circle Grille" Model 50-XC-3 from 1940. The case is made of Catalin, which is a cast resin with great depth and beauty. This radio was originally a creamy white color with tan swirls, but due to the unstable nature of catalin when exposed to light, it has now darkened to a nice butterscotch color.

Remler

Model 46 - "Scottie"

The Remler Co. was located in San Francisco, California and, prior to 1922, was partially owned by Elmer Cunningham. Supposedly, Remler was derived from "Elmer" spelled backwards with an "r" added ("r" for "radio".) The "Scottie" radios were popular models with the canine decoration probably inspired by FDR's dog, "Fala." This Model 46 is from 1937.

Majestic

Model 651

Majestic offered up the Model 651 in 1939. It featured a great curved cabinet made of Bakelite but the circuit is typical of the AC/DC types using a ballast tube and five receiving tubes.

Abbotwares

Model Z-477

Abbotwares produced several variations of their Model Z-477. Shown are two styles, the "Standing Horse" is the most often seen version, while the "Rearing Horse & Cowboy" is seldom encountered. There is also the rare  "Prancing Horse & Cowgirl" variation, besides a "Lady Godiva," a "Moose" and a "Hula Dancer." Why Abbotwares used the same model number for all the variations is unknown but it must have made the paperwork easy. The "Rearing Horse & Cowboy" radio shown was a top prize give-away and was won at a California State Fair in the early fifties.

"Lester" Piano-Radio

Model 494

This version of the bakelite "Grand Piano" radio was built by the L.K.Franklin Co.,Inc. of Los Angeles, California. There are several variations and cabinets in both wood or bakelite. The radio is a standard "AA-5" and dates from the early fifties.

Sparkling Champagne Music

"Quality Superb"

The unusual name of this novelty radio is descriptive of its intent - a large champagne bottle that houses a radio. The bottle, although it looks very convincing, is actually painted bakelite and the "cork" at the top is turned to tune in stations. Again, a standard "AA-5" is housed vertically while the speaker is facing downward in the base. This novelty dates from the early fifties and, for several years, was on display in Virginia City's notorious thirst-parlor, The Union Brewery. The "streamer-ribbon" was a left-over from this radio's "party" days at the "Brewery."

Harrah's Club

Slot Machine Radio

It wouldn't be Nevada without a "Slot Machine Radio." This one is an early tube variety that Harrah's Club sometimes gave as an additional prize to large jackpot winners in the mid-fifties. They were also available in Harrah's Gift Shops located inside the casino. Not the highest quality in either performance or materials!