Antique and Vintage RCA Radios

It should come as no surprise that RCA made amazing radios. After all, "Radio" is the first word in the Radio Corporation of America's name. Founded in 1919 as a subsidiary of General Electric, RCA was responsible for many key innovations in radio technology, and was an early manufacturer of ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore radios, portable and military radios, and radio telephones. In 1929, the company purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, creating RCA Victor, which became famous for its affordable radio tubes, and its iconic ‘His Masters Voice’ advertising campaign featuring Nipper the fox terrier looking into a phonograph horn. After World War II, RCA combined its proven expertise in sound with new applications for sight when it manufactured televisions. One of RCA's earliest radio brands was the Radiola, which made its debut in 1922 after RCA's Aeriola brand had failed to generate much excitement in the marketplace. Like the Aeriola line, Radiolas were manufactured for RCA by companies such as General Electric and Westinghouse. In fact, one of the first Radiolas was actually an Aeriola—when Aeriola Grands were recalled due to their poor performance, technicians hired by RCA would repair them for free and then paste Radiola Grand stickers over the Aeriola Grand labels before returning the units to customers. RCA produced Radiolas from 1921 to 1931, for prices that ranged from $25 for that first Radiola I to a whopping $895 for a Radiola 32, of which just over 3,000 units were produced in 1927. RCA also made speakers for its radios, some of which were designed to sit on top of its radios, while others were supported by their own lathe-turned legs and came with built-in AC power supplies. During the 1930s and '40s, RCA was known for its Art Deco console and tombstone wooden radios, as well as its smaller "midget" sets. By 1939, the company was also making promotional radios—the San Francisco Expo radio of 1939 and the New York World's Fair radio of 1940 are highly sought today. RCA would continue to produce branded radios, including, in 1952, a handsome little baby-blue umber in the shape of a Pepsi cooler. Concurrently and after World War II, RCA jumped on the plastic bandwagon (along with Emerson, Fada, Zenith, and others), producing gorgeous radios of Bakelite, Catalin, and Plaskon. RCA reissued its Radiola line during these years, as well as RCA Victor radios, one of which was known as the Little Nipper. Less exotic plastics dominated the 1950s, in hues ranging from turquoise to pink, while the 1960s saw an onslaught of handheld transistor radios.