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Yes, welcome to the world of transistor radios. The earliest transistor radios were two-transistor radios. Regency Electronics manufactured the first pocket-sized transistor radio in 1954. Sony had the first pocket transistor radio out on the market in 1958. It wasn't their first, they had earlier models in 1955-57, but those only came out for the Japanese market.  The Regency TR-1, this one in lavender, 1954. Toshiba followed up in 1958 with their "Lace" transistor radio. There was real lace under clear Lucite plastic. This was a four-transistor radio. The first wave of Japanese transistor radios to wash up on our shore was in 1959-60. The early, golden age of Japanese transistor radios was from 1958-1963. Many had what is known as reverse paint or under painted designs and motifs. Inside the reverse plastic there could be anything from numbers, letters, and space age motifs. They were usually lettered in gold paint. Japanese designers took their cue from American automobile styling. They believed that if a certain style or motif looked good on a car then it would look good on a transistor radio. Radio names came from the space age: Jupiter, Global, Saturn, Orion, Vanguard, Starlite, and Comet to name but a few. By around 1964 transistor radios were pretty boring looking. Gone was the cool styling that had been just a couple of years earlier. Now radios either came in maroon, white or basic black. They started using cheaper parts. Hong Kong began exporting thousands of standard radios to the US. By 1967 most transistor radios had lost their design appeal. They became more functional than decorative.  An interesting thing happened around 1970. Panasonic created some very stylish and colorful radios. There was with the Ball and Chain space age sphere radio, along with the asymmetrical Toot-A-Loop radio, and the 8-track plunger in a rainbow of colors. Also were a few other pocket radios in a rainbow of colors. This marked the beginning of a new period of more "inspired" designed radios. Sharp released a number of brightly colored radios from 1970-73. Handheld radios were more like "strap-held" radios as manufacturers added a faux leather carrying strap to their radios. Radios had speaker grilles with holes in them to depict the moon. Remodeled space age styling came back with new colors like orange, yellow, dark blue, lavender and green. The most coveted transistor radios are those radios with a real "coolness" factor. There has to be some motif to the radio, such as a chevron "V" (after the Cadillac) or a boomerang shape. Today's collectors look for colorful radios in interesting shades of green and coral. A black and gold combination is very striking. Red is always a great color and shows well on a shelf. All transistor radios came in leather carrying cases. Radios found today in near mint condition were well cared for. Collectors want radios as damage free as possible, and above all, to work. (Oldies rock stations' sound best coming out of a transistor radio.) A Regency electronics ad promoting the "world's first pocket radio". The transistor radio collecting craze hit full steam by 1994. At that time cool radios in great colors with colorful designs were still readily found. And then eBay came along and collectors had a field day. That lasted on eBay for some ten years. As of late, the selection on eBay is not as plentiful. It seems like the supply of highly prized sets is drying up. Antiques stores and shows are still the best place to find them, if you know what to look for. When you see a radio in its leather case, slide it out and look at it. If it's just a boring radio with no interesting motifs, pass it up. Keep looking for the cool space-age designs, stylish motifs, and bright colors. Right now, the seventies radios are not widely collectible as they are somewhat plentiful. But they will be someday soon, I predict, as over the next five years or so the supply of currently in-demand radios begins to dry up. New radio collectors will be looking for newer radios. The market for 1980s Sony Walkmans is growing, too.  The 1979 Sony Walkman. Could this be the next generation of radio collectible? |
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