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Vintage radios....

I just won an auction for a 1946 Emerson bakelite tabletop radio on Ebay: $15.50 plus shipping. It is the exact radio that I remember having as a kid growing up the the 50s, so I was thrilled to discover that these radios are still around and kicking.

I'm no expert, but AM radios from the 40s and 50s all pretty much had the same circuit and tube complement...the "All-American Five": 12SA7, 12SK7, 12SQ7, 50L6 and 35Z5. There were also circuits with 9-pin miniature equivalents of these tubes.

From what I've been able to gather, the real collectibility of these electronically-mundane radios is based on the type and condition of their cases. On the top of the tabletop radio heap are the ones made with a variant of bakelite called catalin, a shiny, translucent, swirly-marbelized plastic in various colors. These generally range from $1000 to several thousands, but they are truly beautiful works of art.

Ever the collector, I really wish I HADN'T seen several prime examples of the genre on Ebay...if you know what I mean :-)


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  • Vintage radios.... - Tom 14:09:46 04/11/07 (0)


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