1923 Radiotrola Baby Grand Radio * Uncommon & Complete * With Original Instructions & Blank Station Log
$1,350.00
1923 Radiotrola Baby Grand Radio * Exceedingly Uncommon * With Original Instructions & Blank Station Log
Elegant & tiny, the self-casing Raditotrola Baby Grand (just 11″ x 7″ x 7″ with the lid lowered) was a repackaged “uptown” version of National Airphone’s GT-1 Monodyne, the smallest tube radio ever made.
This example — which includes its original instruction pamphlet as well as its original blank station log — is one of only a handful of known survivors, and its condition is excellent, particularly when you consider that it was built to a price rather than to a standard.
The leatherette-clad pasteboard cabinet is complete and correct, with no restoration and no repairs. Prominent screen printing on the underside of the lid, and the original loop (where the tube was stored when the radio was not in use) is still intact on the underside of the lid. There’s oxidation on the hinges and on the front latch, but none of the small hardware is missing, nor is any of it damaged. No stains or damage to the battery box, and all original battery wires are present, as are both original rheostats.
The radio itself is in near mint condition, with clean original coils, original connecting wires, and no chips, no cracks, nor any other damage to the poured shellac housing. Marbled tuning knob is original, and the embossing is prominent.
Comes with the two pictured coils, a nice working Murdock headset, and two WD-12 tubes, both of which have open filaments and are included for display purposes only.
The radio was tested with a strong emissions UV-200 detector tube, an ARBEIII power supply and a longwire outdoor antenna, and it can tune a nearby AM station, but its output level is very low, about the same as a garden variety crystal set. Accordingly, it’s being offered for historical purposes only, with no assurances stated or implied that it’s suitable for contemporary broadcast reception.
SOLD
