In the late 1930s radio sales were primarily for table top
and floor console radios in fine wood veneer cabinets. They were pieces of furniture as much as they
were entertainment devices. Cheaper sets
in plastic were available, but they were considered inferior even though almost
all of the sets sold could be plugged into the wall. A few could be run from batteries, but those
were primarily for the “farm market”.
Most farms back then had no electricity.
So, when RCA introduced the BP-10 personal portable radio in 1940 it met
some resistance from radio salesmen. It
was not in a pretty wood cabinet and it did not plug into the wall. The price was also higher than some of the
cheaper small radios that could be plugged in, but too cheap to be profitable
to the radio salesman.
A battery only radio was somewhat of a novelty in 1940. A few battery only sets had been introduced
in 1939. But, those were large
“luggable” sets designed primarily to be taken from place to place not played
in transit. In fact the manufactures of
the 1939 radio covered their radio cabinets in so called “airplane
fabric”. This was the same fabric used
to cover travel suit cases of that era.
With all that considered it was anyone’s guess as to how the
public would react to the BP-10 radio.
RCA’s David Sarnoff (CEO) was confident that a true “on the go” small portable
would be a hit with the public. The rest
of RCA was not so sure. Nevertheless,
RCA pulled out all the stops promoting the new BP-10 Personal Portable
radio. The BP-10 was advertized in
magazines, newspapers, movies, and just about every other way possible in
1940. Public acceptance was
dramatic. With over 200,000 sold in less
than a year the BP-10 was one of the most recognizable radios of the era. The radio was so successful that the art deco
black and chrome look was copied by Emerson, Motorola, Westinghouse, and other
radio manufacturers. In fact the black
and chrome look persisted right up through the transistor radio craze.
The original black
and chrome 1940 BP-10 radio on the right with a 1962 Silvertone transistor
radio on the left.
