Wow! Incredible woodwork! Imagine this historic radio on your fireplace mantle.
This mantle tabletop radio from Stewart-Warner Corporation’s 1938 model year is a superb example of late Art Deco design. As a five-tube radio with its original 5 1/4-inch side speaker, it has plenty of volume and brilliant fidelity.
History: The Stewart-Warner Corp. began as the Stewart and Clark Co., founded by John Stewart, and made automotive parts, particularly speedometers. The firm had a huge factory on Diversey Parkway in Chicago. Radio production began in 1925, and to support its radio products, Stewart-Warner bought the O&T tube factory in New York City, which had previously made Silvertone tubes. Although its tube manufacturing business was not very successful, Stewart-Warner was building radios at the rate of 1,000 units per day by 1926.
This model first appeared in the fall of 1937 and sold into the 1938 model year. This model has some nice showroom features like a brilliant gold front dial and a cabinet featuring bright walnut veneer with contrasting color elm burl piping.
Today, this attractive radio is sought after by collectors but almost never found restored to this near perfect condition. We acquired this radio in early 2019 from a collector who had not restored it. The cabinet was in good shape and had its original finish. The chassis was working but needed a full restoration and upgrade.
Dial: The gold dial displaying all the station frequencies is quite impressive, especially in a dim or dark room. The dial displays the two bands – BC or AM Broadcast (525-1750 kHz) and Shortwave (2200-17000 kHz). All letters and numbers of the main faceplate are legible and show virtually no signs of wear.
Chassis: We checked all the chassis’ capacitors, replacing resistors and tubes where needed. We completely removed, thoroughly cleaned, and lubricated the main tuning capacitor. It now spins easy and has proper cushioning when you turn the dial knob. We aligned the radio (both IF and RF), and it plays well across the broadcast band. We left the Shortwave band as is (since there are no stations on it) and use it for Bluetooth input. The band switch in back now switches between BC and Bluetooth.
Speaker: Even though it performed well, we had the all-original 5 1/4-inch speaker cleaned and fixed some exceedingly small holes. The result is clear audio across the entire audio frequency range. This radio produces exceptional bass tones for its size and the great sound will fill the room. See link to demo on YouTube below.
Bluetooth: Additionally, we fitted this radio with our custom Bluetooth / MP3 adapter, which allows you to switch between the radio or your smartphone or music device. Access your streaming audio service or the playlist on your smart device to provide classic tunes and bring the warm, bright, analogue sound to any music or recording you choose. The quality of the sound is excellent. You will have the best of “digital” and “analog” combined.
Dimensions: 13.5"W x 10"D x 9"H
Weight: 13 Pounds
See this YouTube video for demo: youtu.be/KC1l66Kw2SM
This mantle tabletop radio from Stewart-Warner Corporation’s 1938 model year is a superb example of late Art Deco design. As a five-tube radio with its original 5 1/4-inch side speaker, it has plenty of volume and brilliant fidelity.
History: The Stewart-Warner Corp. began as the Stewart and Clark Co., founded by John Stewart, and made automotive parts, particularly speedometers. The firm had a huge factory on Diversey Parkway in Chicago. Radio production began in 1925, and to support its radio products, Stewart-Warner bought the O&T tube factory in New York City, which had previously made Silvertone tubes. Although its tube manufacturing business was not very successful, Stewart-Warner was building radios at the rate of 1,000 units per day by 1926.
This model first appeared in the fall of 1937 and sold into the 1938 model year. This model has some nice showroom features like a brilliant gold front dial and a cabinet featuring bright walnut veneer with contrasting color elm burl piping.
Today, this attractive radio is sought after by collectors but almost never found restored to this near perfect condition. We acquired this radio in early 2019 from a collector who had not restored it. The cabinet was in good shape and had its original finish. The chassis was working but needed a full restoration and upgrade.
Dial: The gold dial displaying all the station frequencies is quite impressive, especially in a dim or dark room. The dial displays the two bands – BC or AM Broadcast (525-1750 kHz) and Shortwave (2200-17000 kHz). All letters and numbers of the main faceplate are legible and show virtually no signs of wear.
Chassis: We checked all the chassis’ capacitors, replacing resistors and tubes where needed. We completely removed, thoroughly cleaned, and lubricated the main tuning capacitor. It now spins easy and has proper cushioning when you turn the dial knob. We aligned the radio (both IF and RF), and it plays well across the broadcast band. We left the Shortwave band as is (since there are no stations on it) and use it for Bluetooth input. The band switch in back now switches between BC and Bluetooth.
Speaker: Even though it performed well, we had the all-original 5 1/4-inch speaker cleaned and fixed some exceedingly small holes. The result is clear audio across the entire audio frequency range. This radio produces exceptional bass tones for its size and the great sound will fill the room. See link to demo on YouTube below.
Bluetooth: Additionally, we fitted this radio with our custom Bluetooth / MP3 adapter, which allows you to switch between the radio or your smartphone or music device. Access your streaming audio service or the playlist on your smart device to provide classic tunes and bring the warm, bright, analogue sound to any music or recording you choose. The quality of the sound is excellent. You will have the best of “digital” and “analog” combined.
Dimensions: 13.5"W x 10"D x 9"H
Weight: 13 Pounds
See this YouTube video for demo: youtu.be/KC1l66Kw2SM