My Vintage Radio Collection

[photo2u]

What a beauty!

 

[decojoe67]

This 1937 Airline model 62-256. It's in really nice condition with it's original and delicate silk-like grill cloth. A pleasing design with the classic green tuning eye. The 6-tube chassis performs very well.

 

[decojoe67]

Here's an odd little bakelite set. It's a 1939 Musicaire model 811T and it's a battery 'farm" set. This company was based in Minnesota, so they're typically found in the mid-west. They're also often battery sets because at this time many little towns out that way did not have electricity. I like the mottling, small auto-like dial, and louvered design. The set actually plays as-is with modern batteries, but a recap would be in order.

 

[tonyb]

Hey decojoe67, how many radios you got?

I always enjoy seeing your posts in this thread.

 

[decojoe67]

Hey decojoe67, how many radios you got?

I always enjoy seeing your posts in this thread.

Thanks. I enjoy sharing the photos and history of these sets. I took an interest in antique radios and TV's when I was about 12 and starting collecting. I have next to nothing from those days, but became a serious collector starting in the 1990's. I have around 150 sets. Mostly radios, several TV's, and a few phonographs. I try to focus on each set when I get one, learn as much as I can with it, make it as nice as I can, and get it working.

 

[decojoe67]

This is a small budget "tombstone" radio from the Great Depression. It's a 1934 Crosley "Fiver" model 5M3. There was a more conventional model with a burled faux veneer front and small wooden feet. This model was more artisic and art-deco with the very bold faux veneer "photo-finish", black painted central strip, and chrome escutcheon. A very unique thing about these sets is the jade green translucent dial. This example is a very nice original and plays perfectly.

 

[decojoe67]

This is a sharp small tabletop radio, a 1938 Philco model 38-15. A nice dial, grille, and performing 2-band chassis. I replaced the grille cloth and knobs, and just refreshed the original finish.

 

[decojoe67]

Here's a unique small "bullet" style radio, a 1936 Halson model 100M. The set needed cabinet repair and refinishing, but had the original knobs and I was able to remove and reuse the original grille cloth. The dial is dark when off, but lights up in a rich sunburst effect. The chassis was repaired and it plays nicely. Halson radios were made in NYC.

 

[tonyb]

It’s an impressive display all around, decojoe67. It’s people like you who keep this place vital and steer it back to its “Golden Era” focus.

 

[decojoe67]

It’s an impressive display all around, decojoe67. It’s people like you who keep this place vital and steer it back to its “Golden Era” focus.

Thank you. I've had a passion for this hobby since I was about age 12. I love things from the 1920's-1960's, but the 1930's the most.

 

[decojoe67]

This is a 1939 Supertone battery-only portable, likely model 164-4D. These came with many house-brand names, but originated from the Continental Radio Co. I completely refurbished this set. Many hours of work.

 

[decojoe67]

A 1947 Setchell-Carlson model 427 6-tube brown bakelite radio. This set is called the "large frog-eye". There was a slightly different smaller version. They came in a few different solid colors and two-tone cabinets. Only the bottom of the cabinet is open and the chassis is mounted upside-down within. The over-all look with the knurled thumb-wheel knobs is "machine-age".

 

[decojoe67]

1947 Emerson model 553A AC/Battery portable radio. This was a typical portable of the late 1940's. They were hugely popular. This one works perfectly with no evidence of any repairs!

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
Quite the find.

 

[decojoe67]

^^^^^
Quite the find.

Thank you Tony. I searched for a nice one of these because I believe this might be the model my father mentioned he had as a kid in the '40's. For the collector who likes these late '30's-'40's cloth portables, they're the greatest bargain out there. Even paying a top retail price, you can get an excellent typical one for $50-$60. Occasionally a unique model will bring over $100.

 

[tonyb]

The Vintage Voltage Expo returns to Denver March 20. I’ve never attended, so I can’t say that it’s worth going out of one’s way for, but I may check it out. Five bucks to get in. It’s a safe enough bet that it would be at least five dollars worth of education.

It’s not “Golden Era,” but my c. 1972 console stereo figures prominently in my living room. I acquired it from the original owner in Tacoma a decade or more ago. I bought it mostly for its mid-century cabinet style.

I occasionally take a peek into a couple-three online groups devoted to such things. In one of those groups I stumbled across an outfit called Groovy Wood Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. On reading the prices the proprietor is asking (and getting, apparently) for similar units — two grand and up, way up — I was happy to have acquired mine for 60 bucks, I think it was.

My considerably older radios (got four of ’em now) I bought for the same reason: I like their look. And I take a smallish measure of pride in ownership and in preserving these things for future generations.

 

[decojoe67]

1933 Kadette Jr. model F "pocket" AC only radio. A pocket radio as long as you get somewhere that has an AC outlet. This set was purely a novelty. In the little art-deco case is a chassis that's basically two big tubes with the other components crammed around it. These squeak-out sound like a cheap '60's transistor radio. They're super interesting though and appealing. This one has no damage (not an easy feat to maintain with their heavy thick cloth cord!), the original box, and repro user guide.

 

[tonyb]

As it turns out, coinciding with today’s Vintage Voltage Expo was the annual Colorado Radio Collectors’ Antique Radio Annual Show. I got more out of that than the vendor booths. At least a hundred well restored old radios were on display on tables (“Display Radios, Do Not Touch”) outside the hall housing the VVE.

I was tempted by three or four old radios on offer, but I went home empty-handed, seeing how I didn’t quite fall in love with any of them.

 

[tonyb]

The Expo itself was mostly 40- through 60-year-old stereo components — turntables, tuners, amps, a few booths with electric guitars and amplifiers. But, as I mentioned above, there were a few old (like 1930s thru ’50s vintage) radios, priced in the 25 to 65 dollar range. But with the exception of a nice Teague-designed Sparton (priced at $500, a bit out of my range for an impulse purchase), there was really nothing special.

 

[decojoe67]

This is a small 1939 General Electric model GD-610 art-deco styled tabletop radio. It's unique with it's single front knob and side tuning. The push-buttons are mechanical and require a deep plunge to activate them.