Philco Model 16B Cathedral Radio

Object Details

date made
ca 1933
maker
Philco
Description
America embraced a new technology in the wake of World War One: radio. The wide availability of affordable receivers allowed people across the country to access both local and national programming. Radio became so popular that even the Great Depression could hardly slow sales. Philco manufactured this model 16B “cathedral” style radio around 1933. The model 16B was an eleven-tube superheterodyne with two wave band receivers that could pick up broadcasts from as far away as Britain. The front of the case consists of a single speaker with four knobs—the station selector, tone control, wave band switcher, and the power and volume control.
place made
United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
See more items in
Work and Industry: Electricity
Popular Entertainment
Communications
American Enterprise
Exhibition
American Enterprise
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
Related Publication
Sewer, Andy; Allison, David; Liebhold, Peter; Davis, Nancy; Franz, Kathleen G.. American Enterprise: A History of Business in America
Credit Line
from Jane Petitmermet
Data Source
National Museum of American History
ID Number
1986.0671.01
model number
16B
catalog number
1986.0671.01
accession number
1986.0671
Object Name
receiver
radio receiver
Other Terms
receiver; Radio
Physical Description
wood (overall material)
glass (overall material)
metal (overall material)
plastic (overall material)
rubber (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 49.1 cm x 42 cm x 32.2 cm; 19 5/16 in x 16 9/16 in x 12 11/16 in
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-59a8-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
Record ID
nmah_714028