A few Thoughts On Portable Radio Collectability

The current interest in collecting portable radios seems to stem from the recent profusion of portable electronic devices.  This profusion includes smart phones, MP3 players, tablets, etc.  For some time radio collectors have realized that the origin of portable entertainment, communication, and computation devices originated with the portable radio.  Other than this historical fact, there may be other reasons for the current interest in collecting portable radios.

There are lots of old portable radios out there.  Many were stored in bottom drawers, attics, basements, and some forgotten corners.  They often turn up at flea markets, garage sales, and especially on eBay.    On a recent day eBay had listings for more than 20,000 portable radios.  Most of those radios were transistor sets dating from the 1960s onward.   Of those on eBay over 2,000 radios were listed as “collectables”.  Needless to say, most of the so called “collectables” were of little interest to collectors or even to anyone in need of a cheap portable radio.  It’s not surprising that the people listing those radios on eBay know little about collecting portable radios.  The number of serious collectors is a very small fraction of people owning portable radios.  So, to most people any old radio thought to be useless may be considered as “collectable”.

Despite this common misperception, any portable radio is not necessarily a collectable portable radio.  Even if there is no information about an old portable radio on the Internet or to be found in reference books, the radio may not be rare or collectable.   There were so many portable radios produced that many of the less interesting ones are simply ignored by collectors and the media.  If the radio is both unreferenced and nondescript it is probably not collectable. 

Now, the seriously collected portable radios fall into several general categories.  There are the early tube sets, the prewar tube portables, the post war tube portables, and the early transistor radios.  A few radios such as novelty portables or the WWII military RBZ portable, fall outside those categories.  But, most collectors are interested in radios falling in the four categories listed.  Of course, condition of any radio greatly affects the value to a collector.  Radios in poor condition are collected mostly for parts.  The ideal radio is “as new in the box” and is valued the highest.

 

 

The RBZ portable radio is popular with the military collectors, but is seldom of interest to main stream portable radio collectors.

 The early tube portables are very collectable and very rare.  Portable radios built between 1921 and 1929 were very large and are seldom complete as found.  They are difficult to restore because their components are almost non existent.  Consequently, many early sets in poor to fair condition are cannibalized to restore better sets.  This, of course, increases their rarity.  Also, many of these early portables were damaged by rough transport and from battery leakage.  The prices are very high for some of these portable due to rarity and design.  But the number of collectors interested in these early portables is limited and decreasing yearly as collectors that relate to those sets pass on.  For the mainstream radio collector, they may not be very collectable in the future.  Rare: yes, collectable: to be determined.

The ultimate collector for these early portable sets will probably be museums.  Only museums have the resources needed to properly preserve and document the older portables for posterity.  But, the number of museums interested in the radios may be limited by the number of people interested in the history, which will no doubt be few.

            From the late 1920s until about 1938, the number of portable radios sold was on a steady decline.  The portable sets of the late 1920s were portable more in name than reality.  Their batteries were expensive and battery life short.  Most of the portables offered during the early 1930s were really battery powered radios for the farm.  Few farms at the time had electric service.  Few true portable radios (designed to be operating while being carried) were available during this period.  Those that were available were expensive and performed poorly.  Consequently, they were not very popular then and therefore are not considered very collectable now.  Popularity often indicates collectability.

The pre WWII portables are an interesting mix of battery only sets and sets that operate from batteries or house current.  The turmoil in Europe during the late 1930s renewed the public’s interest in portable radios.  In 1938 the public wanted a radio they could take anywhere to could keep abreast of European war news.  That demand was met by several manufacturers.  But, the “suitcase” portable radios offered in 1938 and 1939 were still too large and too heavy.  The smallest 1939 radio was a rare three tube personal radio made by Majestic.  That radio was not a great performer, but it whetted the public’s appetite for better small personal sets.  Still, due to its novelty and history, many portable radio collectors would consider this radio very collectable.

The Majestic personal portable of 1939 is unique, historic, and rare.  Consequently, it should be considered collectable.

 In 1940 RCA and several other manufacturers offered radios based on newly developed miniature tubes.   Some of those radios were small enough to fit in overcoat pockets.  Many sold well; some sold extremely well, like the RCA Personal Radio (BP-10).  But, for the public small size was not an over riding factor for the pre war portables.  Due to the small size, personal portables had short battery life.  There was simply no room for large long life batteries.  So, before the war the public usually compromised and bought portables that could run from batteries or house current.  These portables were generally larger than the small personal portables, but the larger size was offset by the power supply flexibility.  They outsold the personal portables by about five to one.  Surprisingly, their prewar popularity does not make them very collectable.  Many of the portables that could run from batteries or house current were rather plain and very similar.  For the most part, collectors have ignored them.

Most radio collectors know that, with the exception of military radios, no U.S. radios were produced during WWII (1942 to 1945).  This hiatus resulted in a big difference in both the quantity and appearance of tube based portable radios available after the war.  From 1945 on, postwar tube portables were produced in tremendous quantities (along with just about everything else).  And, portable radios took on a more artistic appearance.  Plastic was used extensively to add both color and form to radios that were once rather utilitarian.  The public loved them at the time, but collectors shun them today.

The majority of the postwar tube portables were designed to operate on battery and house current.  The portables designed to operate only from battery were not very popular.  A small number of manufacturers tried to interest the public in small battery portables, but most attempts failed.  Only the smallest of the post war tube portables seem to be of interest to collectors.  An example would be the Motorola Pixie of 1955.  It was one of the last tube based personal portable radios and is fairly rare.

The 1955 Motorola Pixie was small, but not as small as transistor radios of the same era.

            Strangely, there is also some U.S. collector interest in Japanese tube portables produced after WWII.  Most of the Japanese portables were the same electrically (four tubes), but their enclosures were inexpensive plastic of exotic appearance.  Apparently, the fragility, rarity and wide variation in maker labels make them of interest.

            The next big thing in portable radios was the portable transistor radio.  Transistor radios form another large and interesting collectable category.   Starting in late 1954 with the Regency TR-1, the number of transistor radio models mushroomed to and almost uncountable number.  Transistor portable radios were produced initially in the U.S., then Japan, then the rest of the world.   

            There seem to be several collector interests for transistor radios.  Early historic first generation transistor radios are collectable, because they were the first transistor portable radios and most were made in the U.S.  Some are fairly rare, but most were made in huge numbers.  Transistor radio collectors seem to gravitate to the radio of rare color or unique design. 

            By the 1970s, with the exception of the Zenith Transoceanic, no transistor portable radios were produced in the U.S.  So, collectors with interest in less expensive (i.e., newer) transistor radio looked to radios from Japan, Hong Kong, etc.  The color, style, and rarity, of the Japanese transistor radios are big draws to a large number of the transistor radio collectors.  Some early Japanese radios were not imported and are rarely seen in the U.S.  Later radios were quite sophisticated in style and performance.   It looks as if the future of portable radio collecting will be in transistor radios.  The wide range of portables from novelty radios to very exotic looking radios provides something for every collector.

 This is a small “boom box” typical of the 1980s.  It’s very common, very gaudy, very inexpensive, and not very collectable.

 
             

 All that being said, collectors themselves decide what is or is not collectable.  Just because a portable radio is rare, unique, historic, or esthetically pleasing does not make it collectable to every collector.  As with most collectors, true portable radio collectors collect what they like.

Music in a Suitcase: The Portable Radio Renaissance

Before 1938 the number of portable radios available was rather small.  The Great Depression was in full swing and most people had little money for an extra radio.  Despite the economic situation there were a few small radio manufacturers and some hobbyist building portable radios.  Most of those early portable radios, offered commercially during the early 1930s, were housed in nondescript wooden enclosures.  That changed in 1938.

In 1938 Philco Radio Corporation came out with what their advertisements called “An entirely new kind of radio, invented by Philco engineers”.  Well, it wasn’t all new, but it looked rather snazzy housed in a wood enclosure covered in “airplane cloth” which was similar to the covering used on luggage of the period.  Airplane cloth was so called because it resembled the fabric covering used on early airplanes.

Typical suitcase of the 1930s and 40s.

The earliest known portable radio covered in “airplane cloth” was a home built portable radio featured in the September 1936 issue of Popular Science magazine.  It was called a “Picnic Portable”.  The author of the article, Arthur C. Miller, had his home built radio housed in an enclosure built and covered in luggage cloth (airplane cloth) by a “neighborhood trunk shop”.  It’s not known if this is the first radio made to look like luggage, but it was not the last. 

 

The 1936 home built Picnic Portable radio.

The portable radio advertised by Philco in 1938 as “An entirely new kind of radio…” was known as the “Little Pal”.  It started a portable radio renaissance.  The overall look of the “Little Pal” was copied by almost every major radio manufacturer at the time.  From 1938 through 1940 many portable radios were offered in luggage size packages.  The earliest were designed to operate only from batteries.  But, that changed some time around 1940 when it was possible to add house current operation to the portable radio package.

  

Two “suitcase” portable radios of the late 1930s, the RCA Pick-me-Up radio on the right and the Philco Little Pal radio on the left

After that most portable radios were capable of battery and house current operation.  The exceptions were the so called personal radios.  Those were built rather small to facilitate easy portability.  As a consequence they were too small to include the parts necessary for house current operation.   Suitcase size portable radios operating only from batteries generally went away after 1941.  There were a few post war attempts to market large portable radios operating from batteries only.  Most of those were not popular with the public.   But, the idea of a suitcase size portable did not die.  The idea of a large portable radio was famously revised in the 1970s as the “boom box”.  Most “boom boxes” were not exactly suitcase size nor did they appear to be luggage.  So, sadly the music was no longer in a suitcase, just in a large plastic box.