Designer radios, 1950

Philco's 1950 personal portable radio ads show a gadget design that has been much aped in modern times, but which is much more interesting here in its nascent form.

Philco 1950

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Cory,

The Roberts Revival radios you linked to are based on Roberts’s own historic models (example). Wikipedia says:

…by the late 1930s the company had settled on an upright box shape set covered in coloured leathercloth with fabric loudspeaker grille – a style that they would keep to and evolve slowly with each progressive model.
papiermeister

Isn’t that the radio the castaways had on Gilligan’s Island?
- Anonymous
  
  No, the Gilligan’s Island radio was a Packard Bell AR-851. They’re apparently rather collectable.
szielins

In case anyone’s curious: $34.95 in 1950 dollars is about $313.02 in 2010 dollars.
- sam1148
  
  In case anyone’s curious: $34.95 in 1950 dollars is about $313.02 in 2010 dollars.
  
  Yes, but electronics where expensive items then. In the 1950′s. Radio was a primary source of information and entertainment.
  In the early 50′s television wasn’t as widespread as you might think, radio–radio dramas, plays, entertainment programs, news, music was the source. Televisions where just making it to households at the time. Not portable at all.
  
  Consider how much a iPhone costs today with data plan, or Ipad2, a laptop, Kindel,or any wireless device that streams media in a portable manner and it’s not completely outrageous…considering those radios still work after 60 years. Do you think you could say the same of a portable DVD player, Iphone, or laptop in a practical manner 60 years in the future?
nixiebunny

A later model, which was available in pink, had a “Scantenna” antenna-handle which rotated to eliminate the problem with the built-in loopstick antenna, which is that it’s a very good direction finder.

I have one of these, and it actually works rather well after replacing the battery with a stack of 9V batteries. It’s just heavy as all get-out.
The 2-Belo

I find “Prices slightly higher in the South and West” to be just as interesting. The world was so much bigger a place back then.
ScienceMikey

“3-way” radios were fairly common at the time, and the Philadelphia Radio Company was still a pretty major player. I really liked the design; I once had a slightly-older shortwave version of this series. The advent of transistorization just 5 years later changed things pretty quickly.
MacBookHeir

I remember when I foolishly believed that there were little people in my radio putting on the shows just for me. I believed this up until about three weeks ago and have now come to my senses.
jtegnell

Swedish Red?

That’s a breed of cattle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_Red_Cattle
caipirina

Anyone else thought of the coolness of the original toilet seat iBook when it came out in 1999 when seeing this ??? I wonder if John Ivy ever saw this ad.

I’d love to have one of them … with built in wifi jingamagic so I can listen to internet radio stations …
Daemon

A two-way radio is one that allows you to both send and receive… So what’s the third way?
- jphilby
  
  “3-way” here refers to the power source options – 115 volt AC or DC, or battery.
  
  Batteries weren’t a very useful option for portables back when they used tubes. There were some -huge- batteries for sale in those days.
  
  E.g. http://www.philcoradio.com/gallery/1941b.htm
  
  At first I thought they meant ‘car lighter’ (12vdc) for the 3rd way. Never knew anyone with 115 DC, but I guess there were some … and car-cords had to wait for the Beach Boys.
  
  I wondered what a ‘Magnecord aerial was’ … apparently it’s a couple of windings on a ferrite core ‘stick’. Which is,like loop antennas, directional … though loop antennas had been around in consoles for decades and (being larger) were more sensitive.
  
  WPedia has a pict of a loopstick antenna:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loop_antenna
Anonymous

Aren’t the Roberts radios you linked to, much more closely based on their own designs from the 50s, rather than this totally different radio? eg see http://www.radiomuseum.org/collection/howard_craven~6.html