TESLA TALISMAN 308u, 1953

The most popular radio ever built, with over 1 million manufactured through the 1950's in the state-owned radio factory in Czechoslovakia. It was the standard broadcast, longwave, and shortwave radio of Soviet Bloc nations during the cold war, yet it is rarely seen outside of eastern Europe. The distinctive Art Deco, streamlined cabinet combines with a one-of-a-kind off-center tuning dial with multi-color dial markings. The radio uses a pair of bright pilot lights to give a distinctive glow, especially in darkened rooms. The locations of the cities on the tuning dial is a snapshot of Cold War Europe. This radio was found in Zagreb in current-day Croatia. The set is an early model and bears the record of having seen many years of hard service with many repairs. The rugged Bakelite cabinet has been buffed and polished to a near mirror finish...without any paint or lacquer. To maintain the authenticity of the radio, I kept the European power plug and plug it in via an adapter to the homemade current surge protector. Compare the lines of this Soviet-bloc state-produced radio with the Aircastle 106 below..

aircastle 106B, 1946 painted by Primeau

In the 1930s and 40s, giant mail-order retailer Spiegel sold radios under their proprietary private label: Aircastle. The Aircastle 106B was a big hit with its beautiful streamline design that clearly set it apart from so much of the competition (including the more boxy and utilitarian models in Spiegel's catalog). The stock 106B, sold by the thousands, was offered in brown Bakelite. On a single, individual radio, the Canadian firm of Primeau Music elevated the beautiful design of this radio to an even higher level. Primeau did this one-of-a-kind two-tone paint job that they describe as "blue and tangerine." Primeau signed and numbered each of the radios they painted. They never did the same color scheme twice. Although one radio comes from the booming post-war North American economy and the other Iron-Curtain cold-war economy, the design parallels between this radio and the Czech Tesla Talisman (above) is obvious.

trav-ler 5002, 1943 painted by Primeau

Thousands of these radios were sold in plain, brown Bakelite cabinets with the Trav-ler and Airchief labels. It was a solid, basic radio with a built in antenna that delivered good value and performance. But, similar to the Aircastle, above, the Canadian Primeau Music company, dramatically enhanced the beauty of individual radios with a custom two-tone aftermarket paint job. This radio bears the Primeau signature and serial number. The radio is simply a joy to look at and fun to use.

Ducretet Thomson L524, 1954

This is one of the most outstanding radios in the collection. Sold exclusively in France for the French domestic post-war market, few of these radios have made their way to North America. The dial is a time capsule listing the cities of France and French colonial North Africa. With exceptional sensitivity, the radio delivered great performance on long wave, broadcast, and shortwave and has an input port to use with an external turntable. The unit is sensitive, selective, smooth-tuning, boasts an effective full-range tone control, and produces excellent audio quality. The mid-century modern industrial design is dazzling and has earned Ducretet Thomson a secure place in the history of modern industrial design. The glowing dial with its list of exotic locales, its gleaming plastic, and the mirrored dial combine for a stunning vision.

emerson fl-418, 1941

This eye-catching radio sports a gracefully curved, hardwood cabinet with beautiful inlaid veneer made by the venerable clock manufacturer, Ingraham. The unique hardwood speaker grille (with the unflattering nickname "the pig's snout") is not just visually striking but is highly effective in directing the sound output for a rich, room-filling sound that one might expect from a much larger speaker and cabinet. This is a meticulously well-restored example of one of Emerson's premier pre-war radios.

emerson ec-336, 1940

Emerson offered a wide range of affordable radios, introducing new models each year with redesigned Bakelite cabinets but identical electronic: the same 5-tube, AC/DC circuit, with built-in antenna. The 336 is typical of dozens of different models that were cosmetically different but electronically identical. They delivered solid performance, especially on strong, local stations.

philco hippos, 1946-48

The Philco Hippo is a nickname for a series of Philco post-war radios that used a variety of different tubes (depending on availability) and circuit improvements between 1946 and 1948. Thees are both examples of Model 46-240. The unique dial with its bright illumination and large markings is a joy to use and see in daylight and at night. The Bakelite cabinet came in natural ("walnut") and painted ivory. Even after 75 years of life, the Bakelite can be buffed and polished back to gleaming showroom condition. This is a beautiful radio with a very nice sound. And the glowing, smiling "Hippo mouth" dial still brings a smile.

BENDIX 528A, 1946 "The TOASTER"

Bendix Aviation is best known for their line of radios and avionics for the military and commercial aviation industry. They turned their hand to consumer electronics with this radio whose cabinet design immediately earned the nickname, "The Toaster." The functionality of the radio is everything you expect from a firm that built highly-reliable avionic equipment to military specifications. This radio is sensitive and has a great sound. An added benefit is the glowing dial that would be at home in an airplane cockpit or a kitchen table!

firestone airchief, 1942 Model s-7397-5 BLUETOOTH CONVERSION

The defining features of this radio are its heavy, solid, wood cabinet and large speaker. When I found the radio, the cabinet was worn and water-damaged, but its potential was obvious. Rather than restoring it to it's original AM radio function, I converted it to a Bluetooth speaker. The conversion included modifying modern LED bulbs to produce the classic amber warmth of the original incandescent bulbs. The modern Bluetooth board with an integrated 3-watt audio amplifier works perfectly with the original Firestone speaker. The new amplifier uses the unmodified on/off and volume controls of the original radio. Viewed from the front, especially with the soft amber glow of the dial lighting, there is no hint that this radio has been modified. Also, because there is no need to vent heat from vacuum tubes, I made a solid back panel that fastens securely. The combination of the solid cabinet and solid back panel forms an acoustic chamber like a modern speaker enclosure. It produces a rich, full sound that one would never expect from this 82-year-old speaker. The radio is beautiful, sounds great, and Bluetooth offers unlimited content.

airline 54BR-1501, 1945-1948 MONTGOMERY WARD

Catalog retailer Mongomery Ward had a line of radios that they sold under the private label name, "Airline." This radio was about as small and basic as one could find. For its simplicity and small size, it offers surprisingly good performance, especially on strong local stations. These radios were manufactured for Montgomery Warb by Belmont (the folks who made the Bunny).

watterson airmaster 420, 1946

Watterson Radio Manufacturing of Dallas, Texas sold radios under their own name as well as several private labels through independent retailers in Texas and neighboring states. This radio dial proclaims it is an AIRMASTER, one of the private label models. Watterson never aspired to be a national brand, but was quite popular in its region. It is impossible to positively identify this radio as the Model 420 because Watterson used the same cabinet with different radio chassis, and put the same chassis in different cabinets. All Watterson cabinets were large (think Texas), and showcase beautiful veneers over solid wood. The combination of the large, solid cabinet, and oversize speaker gave these radios a distinctly mellow sound and room-filling volume. It is one of the highest performing radios from the 1940's. These large, beautiful, Watterson radios are very rarely found outside of the southwest. This radio was found in Dallas.

emerson db315, 1939 "the bullseye"

This is one of the most beautiful radios ever sold by Emerson. The breathtakingly beautiful cabinet showcases perfectly matched veneer grain patterns along with inlaid veneer trim (note the horizontal lines on both sides of the dial). The curved cabinet and almost sculptural speaker grill are other features of this eye-catching radio. The cabinet was built by Ingraham, the firm best known for grandfather clocks. The challenge in restoring this radio was to reverse cabinet refinishing by former owners. Today the beauty of the cabinet is matched by the amazing sound coming out of the unusual concentric circle speaker openings.

philco 38-9, 1938

One of the most outstanding examples of pre-war Art Deco radio design from any manufacturer. The exquisite cabinetry used a variety of veneers on the front and side of the beautifully curved edge cabinet. The Art Deco motif carries through in the curves of the speaker grille cutouts and beautiful curved edges of the top and the sides of the substantial cabinet. A cheaper version of this radio did not use real hardwood veneer but used a printed surface similar to "contact paper." This radio covers both the broadcast as well as two shortwave bands. Philco introduced a variety of different pilot light and dial arrangements during this period. On this model, the glowing dial uses a narrow slit of brighter light in place of a typical dial pointer to indicate the tuning. It is both beautiful and practical. This radio sounds as good as it looks.

nordemunde fidelio, 1965

This is the last radio built by Nordemunde using vacuum tubes. It is a hybrid with both tubes and transistors, both circuit boards and hand wiring. All radios after this model were entirely solid-state. Nordemunde, located in Bremen,Germany, is not well-known in North America, but they competed head-to-head with Grundig and Philips, and the Fidelio line was a "spare no expense," "no compromise" "Mercedes Benz of radios," showcase of West German engineering and manufacturing. In addition to the exceptional electronics including four built-in speakers and support for two additional external speakers, the two-tone, exotic hardwood cabinet of teak and mahogany is a visual joy and a huge departure from the stodgy cabinet designs synonymous with the Nordemunde name. As found, the radio was non-functioning. It was missing tubes and literally covered in mold and mildew from decades of poor storage. It smelled terrible due to all the mildew. While servicing the electronics, all the wooden cabinetry and cloth speaker grills had to be scraped, scrubbed, and treated with chemistry repeatedly to kill the mold, mildew, and smell. Today, the radio has pride of place in my shop and is the main radio I play while working. It covers AM and shortwave as well as delivering excellent FM performance. II've adapted the port intended for an external hi-fi turntable pickup for y iPod and MP3 players. The beauty of the gleaming teak and mahogany mid-century modern cabinetry is matched by the distinctive "warm" sound of one of the best -- and last -- vacuum tube radios ever built.

philco 41-250, 1941 "log cabin"

The Model 41-250 is the Cadillac of pre-war radios. It picked up AM and two shortwave bands. It featured a huge internal antenna, input port for use with a turntable, and a two-tube, push-pull audio output circuit that was way ahead of its time and is still the gold standard for today's high-end audio equipment. Click on link below for a demonstration of this amazing radio and the story behind its restoration.

Canadian marconi 216, 1946

Called "Canada's favorite radio," these small radios are sensitive and deliver astonishingly great sound. Because of their rugged construction, a surprising number of them have survived and are easily found today. This unit has had several tubes replaced over the years, but still has two of the original Marconi-branded tubes from 1946. The dial is well-illuminated and gives off a lovely glow. Through a formal non-compete agreement, these radios were only sold in Canada, and American manufacturers agreed not to sell their products in Canada.

RCA model 45X12, 1939

Several variations on this same basic radio made it one of the most popular radios of the era. It's popularity stems from an attractive "no frills" price point combined with its stylish Art Deco cabinet design unlike the boxy design of most other basic radios. In fact, RCA continued to use this same basic cabinet for many years with modest variations in the dial design and color scheme. My example is the original design from 1939 that shouts Art Deco with the carefully sculpted cabinet curves that wrap around the cabinet as well as the detail above the dial.

The bunny, 1946 belmont 6c111 coronado c640

The unique "bunny rabbit" cabinet design combines with the rising sun half-circle dial to define one of the most iconic radios of the post-war period. The identical radio appeared under the Belmont and Coronado labels as well as a host of other private labels using similar circuitry with only small variations in the cabinet styling. The radio offers smooth tuning with the large knob on the side, as well as the distinctive set of mechanical push buttons. The lines and curves of this cabinet are eye-catching from any viewing angle. The radio is beautiful, plays well, and the dial has a particularly beautiful soft glow in a darkened room. Pictured in addition to the Bunny is the Windsor Brand with only cosmetic differences to the cabinet. The turquoise Bunny is the result of a previous owner painting over a poorly repaired cabinet.

stromberg-carlson, 1946-1951 models H1101 through H1500

Stromberg-Carlson's primary business was producing tens of millions of indestructible black Bakelite desk telephones for phone companies around the world. They applied this manufacturing expertise to produce a long line of rugged, dependable table radios under different model numbers and circuit improvements but all using the same cabinet. All the many different versions perform well, but the final model in the series, the H1500, is one of the best sounding table radios from the tail-end of the vacuum tube era. This performance boost comes from an extra stage of signal amplification. Quite a few of these "plain Jane" radios have been repainted from their original brown or ivory factory models. I did the mid-century-modern aqua paint job to cover up some extensive repairs to the cabinet. One photo shows the condition of the inside of the radio when I first found it, everything covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt.

GUILD BUCCANEER CHEST, 1965

Guild offered a series of novelty radios in the 1950s and 60s. The Buccaneer Chest is one of the most "kitschy" radios of the era. It offers AM and FM reception with a 7-tube circuit. The decorations are in a single piece of molded and painted plastic. I found metal pirate doubloon party favors on line and painted them a range of gold and silver colors before gluing them to the radio to enhance the treasure chest look. Actual radio operation is lackluster with a single small speaker. Performance has been sacrificed for novelty and kitsch. But it is a fun radio to look at.

Arvin hopalong cassidy, 1950

This is one of the iconic radios of the early 1950's with its bold colors and shiny foil front panel. Designed for young people, it has a rugged metal cabinet which was advertised as "Crushproof" and "Shatterproof." It must be true because this radio has a serious dent in the cabinet top. The radio required the young listener to stretch a wire from the radio to a window to serve as an antenna. It is not a high performance radio but I'm sure many young listeners enjoyed countless hours of listening to Hopalong Cassidy, the Lone Ranger, and countless ball games on this rugged little set.