Antique Radio

The radio was an instrument of luxury in the days gone by. As there was no other medium of entertainment than the radio. It also told the dwellers about the happenings outside incase of natural mishaps, like a landslide, storm, heavy showers etc.

So radio grew in fashion and in technology. Hence you have your portable radio that you can move around with these days. But antique radios in India were as big as 3 feet and 4 feet. They were bulkier models pre World War I, which were refined over a period of time.

Some individuals who fancy the radio and the art in which it was made, collect antique radios because each of them add a different panache to their home. Wooden consoles were used expansively in the olden days. They came in all sizes and the wooden look made the home appear even more lavish. This was around the 1930s and 1940s and it was at a cost of around twenty thousand rupees which was a colossal amount at that time. Hence it was only the rich that could afford it.

Another type of the antique radio is the table top radio. They were called so as they could be placed anywhere on the table in the kitchen, bedroom, hall etc. Another type of the radio was the Cathedral style as it had a roof. Tombstone radios were the ones that looked like tombstones. They were more rectangular and not very tall.

With the introduction of plastic, there came plastic radios that were made in bakelite. Soon they became a favourite and are even sourced out by collectors till date. They grew in demand because of its light weight character and the fact that it did not catch fire as against the wooden consoles that easily did. The reason it faded in popularity was that it cracked easily and if slipped and fell down, it was in pieces.

Some antique radio aficionados also collect radios depending on the tubes inside that needed a warm-up time to more than a minute. Now although you hear the music as soon as you switch the button on, in the days of yore only static was heard for a few minutes.

If you are planning to buy an antique radio, make sure of the year it was manufactured. The older the year, the more expensive. However the price can vary even for new ones making it as expensive as the old ones. It all depends if the radio is in working condition or you fancy it so much, you would love it as a decorative item.
These days technology is upgraded within antique radios making them a usable instrument with a look you will get nowhere else.
Radio collectors argue that vintage radios were the best against the new modern ones. Although the technology in the modern players is excellent they do not have any aesthetic value like it did in the years gone by. They just serve the purpose and nothing else. Also antique radio’s were self crafted, that means there were no two alike. But now all the radios look and are the same. Hence antique radio collectors live on to seek what the modern world has rejected.