Bakelite was first produced in America by Dr. Leo Baekeland in 1907. The synthetic plastic was durable with the advantage of mass production due to casting and was eventually adopted by the radio industry from the late 1920's.
Bakelite also provided an opportunity for designers and craftsmen to create interesting looking radio cabinets - the adding of another colour agent in order to produce an attractive swirling appearance (see pic above) combined with a great design makes this type of radio set popular amongst collectors today.
Emerson 518 - 1947
GEC
GEC BC5243 - 1950
HMV
HMV 5126 - c1952
KOLSTER BRANDES
Kolster Brandes FB10 - 1950
MOTOROLA
Motorola 5X12U - 1950
MURPHY
Philco Tropic 46-806 - 1946
Philco Tropic - c1946
Click onto the following images for additional high resolution photographs :
Bush EU23 1950
BUSH
Bush EBS3A - 1950
CHAMPION
Champion 784 - 1952
EKCO
EKCO SW86 - 1935
ERMERSON
HMV
HMV 5126 - c1952
KOLSTER BRANDES
MOTOROLA
MURPHY
Murphy SAD 94 - 1945
 |
| Murphy TBA 228 - 1954 |
 |
| Murphy TA 198A - 1957 |
PHILCO
 |
Philco Tropic A3601 - c 1955
|
PHILIPS
 |
| Philips PCJJ Speaker - c 1927 |
 |
| Philips 663VN - 1946 |
 |
| Philips BX236/U95 - 1954 |
 |
| Philips BOX97U - 1959 |
Philips BV298A - c 1959
PYE
PYE PE37 - c1951
RCA VICTOR
SIERA
Siera SZ1298A - c 1960
 |
| RCA VICTOR RC-594C - 1947 |
PLASTIC RADIOS
EMERSON
EMERSON 108 - 1935
ERRES
ERRES KY5941 - 1959
PHONE MASTER
c1960
HAYAKAWA
HAYAKAWA 5U172