Philco Antique Radios

 

Philco or the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company is a very recognized brand in radio and appliances because of its continued existence until today. The company was established in 1906 as a manufacturer of car batteries. It saw considerable success in the industry but noticed a more lucrative industry

transistor radios. Philco started manufacturing radios in 1925 with the release of their "Socket-Power" radios. The power source of this type of radio could be installed in a light socket. Eventually, the company extended their products to regular radios as well as car radios.

The brand is well known for their designs especially with their cathedral type radios. The design of this type of radio is well recognized as an antique design for a transistor radio. Philco developed this design for a radio during the 30s and became a very popular. This type of design of Philco has even helped them during the Depression Era. They are also building popular designs in each era

 

from the tombstone design to compact radios encased in metal. Most the well known antique radios of Philco are those that were developed during the 30s and 40s especially the Cathedral design. The early edition of socket radio is also a collector’s item.

WESTON PHILCO 1521 FREQUENCY METER GAUGE VINTAGE NR

WESTON PHILCO 1521 FREQUENCY METER GAUGE VINTAGE NR

- $7.22 4h 50m
Schematic for 50T1400 VINTAGE 1950 Philco TV 50-T1400

Schematic for 50T1400 VINTAGE 1950 Philco TV 50-T1400

$19.50 5h 30m
1935 ANTIQUE PHILCO CATHEDRAL TUBE RADIO MODEL 118B

1935 ANTIQUE PHILCO CATHEDRAL TUBE RADIO MODEL 118B

-
$199.99
$359.99
5h 51m
1931 ANTIQUE PHILCO CATHEDRAL TUBE RADIO MODEL 90

1931 ANTIQUE PHILCO CATHEDRAL TUBE RADIO MODEL 90

-
$399.99
$599.99
6h
1937 ANTIQUE PHILCO CATHEDRAL TUBE RADIO MODEL 37-84B

1937 ANTIQUE PHILCO CATHEDRAL TUBE RADIO MODEL 37-84B

-
$79.99
$139.99
6h 10m
Philco Antique Vintage Radio 1939  Model 39-80

Philco Antique Vintage Radio 1939 Model 39-80

- $20.00 6h 39m
VINTAGE PHILCO BAKELITE RADIO -MODEL 46-200

VINTAGE PHILCO BAKELITE RADIO -MODEL 46-200

1 $5.99 6h 58m
Philco 1930s Style Cathedral Bookends Radio

Philco 1930s Style Cathedral Bookends Radio

$29.99 7h 58m
VINTAGE 15 N.O.S. GE & PHILCO 6BC5 TUBES N.I.B.

VINTAGE 15 N.O.S. GE & PHILCO 6BC5 TUBES N.I.B.

$20.00 8h 58m
(NOS?)PHILCO 76 VACUUM TUBE,  TESTED(121%),  ST,  BLK PLTS

(NOS?)PHILCO 76 VACUUM TUBE, TESTED(121%), ST, BLK PLTS

1 $4.99 9h 43m
PHILCO Tone Arm Voice Of Music Style Changer Stereo

PHILCO Tone Arm Voice Of Music Style Changer Stereo

- $9.95 9h 45m
 2 old TUBES PHILCO 6CA4  n  EMITRON 2729

2 old TUBES PHILCO 6CA4 n EMITRON 2729

- $7.00 10h 21m
NIB NOS PHILCO 5Z3 VACUUM TUBE 1PC

NIB NOS PHILCO 5Z3 VACUUM TUBE 1PC

- $9.99 10h 23m
PHILCO 71A VACUUM TUBE,  TESTED(95%)GLOBE,  ENGRAVED BASE

PHILCO 71A VACUUM TUBE, TESTED(95%)GLOBE, ENGRAVED BASE

2 $13.50 11h 51m
Vintage Philco Portrait Postcard - KING EDWARD VII!

Vintage Philco Portrait Postcard - KING EDWARD VII!

- $1.50 12h 2m

Antique Radio's with Philco Turntables

 
For a collector of antique stuffs, a radio made in the post war period is of great importance. One of the few good companies that created gems of a radio set was Philadelphia Storage Battery Company, which later came to be known as Philco. Right from the beginning Philco made beautiful masterpieces, which survive till date. If you are lucky enough you can get your hands on one of the antique radios with Philco turntables. Turntables appeared quite sometime after the radio, and by the 1930s both the radio and the turntable made it in one single set. These antique radios with Philco turntables can be found in beautiful wooden chassis, and are often quite huge in size and could qualify as a furniture piece. Most of these turntables come with an inbuilt LP record holder also.
Bringing home a 1930s antique radio with Philco turntables brings that old timer's charm in your living room. You would also get these sets in the table top versions apart from the floor models. The record player in some models is very beautifully hidden with a lid, usually on the top of the set. Sets with FM/AM/SW reception capability along with turntables are an easy find on eBay or with the collectors. Most of the collectors have their websites flaunting their collection to the world. At times these collectors sell a part of their collection owing to duplication or space constraint or simply because it stopped working.
Turntables were an instant hit when they came in the market. The entry level models would cost anywhere between $50 for the small not so good table top types to north of $500 for the floor models. And owing to their demand the prices for most antique radio with Philco turntables remained the same throughout the time period that it sold.
A lot of the antique radio with Philco turntables surviving till date that are up for sale in the market are electronically restored and touched up to some extent to make it look like new and give it a fresh post war aura. Most of the later makes of Philco can play the LP in different speeds. If you are interested in one of those antique record players, it is advised to go for the ones that come with a complete schematic diagram and if possible a few spare parts. One would find old radio restoration stores nearby anyways, but the matter of concern is, the repairer might not be conversant with the particular model that you have. Hence having the schematic handy always helps.

Antique Radio Links