Vintage radios and televisions

The first radio broadcast in the world was made in England in 1922. Wireless preceded it but was used mainly for military purposes. By the early 1920s, crystal sets were the commonest receivers, used in the home by enthusiasts who spent long hours making and operating them. valve sets developed alongside them and by the 1930s, the radio was cased in wood or bakelite.

American Sentinel radio 284 NI, 1945, GBP 800 - 1500

The first official broadcasting company, the BBC, was launched in Britain in 1922. It regulated the many companies manufacturing radios, and those that passed the rigorous inspections carried the BBC badge.

EKCO radio, model RS3, 1931, GBP 300 - 500

The television was a rare object in the home before the end of World War II. The first to be manufactured, in 1929, was a mechanical device, the Baird spring disc neon tube 30 line television. The first electrical high definition television was produced in 1936.

Marconi 702 mirror in the lid television, 1937, GBP 2,500 - 3,000

Between 1936 and 1939, only 100,000 sets were made and sold in Britain, but during 1953, the year Queen Elizabeth was crowned, three quarters of a million sets found their way into homes across the country. The BBC reigned supreme in Britain, while NBC in the United States and Telefunken in Germany provided the bulk of their own domestic programmes.

JVC videosphere television, cc 1967, GBP 150 - 250

Collectors' notes

1. Check for damage on both radios and television as condition is very important and any chipping or cracking of bakelite cabinets cannot be rectified
2. Television have only started to make big money in recent years. They have been collected by a small and devoted band for many years but are only now beginning to command widespread interest.
3. Check the perspex visors which shield the screens of television like the JVC videosphere, and avoid to buy examples which are crazed.