1922 RCA Radiola Concert * Rare, Historic Radio Mfr. By Wireless Specialty Apparatus Co.
$3,500.00
Ships Worldwide.
RCA’s Radio Concert Receiver was the first radio that bore the name “Radiola.” It was manufactured by the Wireless Specialty Apparatus Co. — the third partner in the GE, Westinghouse, WSA consortium — and introduced by RCA as part of the company’s line-up in 1922. It was axed by RCA shortly thereafter. A number of things led to its demise, but high price and poor performance were at the top of the list.
There are perhaps 4 or 5 known examples of this radio. As 20’s radios go, it is a grail of grails. Most advanced RCA collectors have never even held a Radiola Concert in their hands, much less owned one.
This particular set, and its original promotional sheet, which is included with it, came from the Doug Furney collection in Lakewood, Colorado. It’s the same set that’s pictured and discussed on page 157 of Eric Wenaas’s exhaustive study of early RCA radios — Radiola: The Golden Age of RCA.
It is guaranteed to be an original, fully authenticated Radiola Concert.
Condition is good overall, and the radio is original throughout. There are some very faint hairlines on the panel, most notably in the lower right corner, running at a diagonal, but the panel’s condition overall is quite good, and the nomenclature is all crisp and highly legible.
The original detector is in excellent condition, with no issues.
The original knobs, with a stylized “RC” molded into their faces, are in excellent condition, with no issues.
The case is oxidized on the exterior, as you can see in the photographs. There are battery ports in the back of the case, as there are on a Radiola Special, but the case is correct, and it is original to the radio.
A rare opportunity to own a piece of radio history.
SOLD
