Radio Tubes and Boxes of the 1920s
Reviewed by SF
Radio Tubes and Boxes of the 1920s, by George A. Fathauer, Old Colony Sound Lab, 305 Union St., PO Box 876, Peter borough, NH 03458-0876, 603-924-6371, FAX 603-924-9467, e-mail custserv@ audioXpress.com, $26.99, 105pp., soft bound, 8½ × 11, $26.95. BKV4
Most books about vintage radios feature photographs of luminous tuning sets peeking seductively out of curvaceous wood cabinets. Radio Tubes and Boxes of the 1920s, on the other hand, presents the radio boom from the in side out. Rather than consoles, what you will find pictured here are hundreds of radio tubes, posed beside their original cartons. In addition, there are brochures and ads, plus announcements about tubes of special significance, all of which provide a unique "insider's view" of the radio boom.
THE TUBE THAT LAUNCHED A BOOM
Although a great many '20s tube types are shown here, the 201A triode is by far the most prevalent. The reason is not hard to fathom: The 201A was the first "acceptable" tube in America, in the sense that it was cheap, reliable, and efficient in use.
This commercial and technical breakthrough was the brainchild of Irving Langmuir at General Electric. Technically, the 201A was a tube of many firsts. It was among the first commercial tubes to include a getter, a thoriated filament, and a hard vacuum. These three techniques combined their strengths to provide a tube preeminent in its practicality.
The 201A's influence was widespread: all told, there were some 500 brands offered during the '20s! While many of these tubes were produced in small batches (and some were rebrands), today you can only marvel at the variety.
The typical 201A had a mu of 8, an "out put resistance" of 12,000, and a plate current of 3mA. Puny, perhaps (by today's standards), but nonetheless sufficient to power the radio boom.
TUBES ON THE WILD FRONTIER
Throughout the '20s, radio manufacturers came and went, some years by the hundred. The one constant throughout the changing fortunes of the radio boom was the demand for tubes. Since tubes were the softest commodity of the radio industry, there was enormous interest in cracking the market. In an effort to stand out amid the ensuing mad scramble for market share, tube marketeers of the '20s raised hyperbole-in-advertising to an art form.
Take the Myers Company, for example, whose slogan was "Myers tubes, practically unbreakable." And, yes, they were glass tubes (but with Bakelite end caps)*. Sovereign's ads were a step more brazen, however, claiming "No hum, no microphonics, no noise." What I want to know is, did they turn the damn things on?
Televocal tubes were "quick heating" and, I take it, designed for persons of dubious patience. The "ever-depend able" 222 from Diatron would "increase volume" and give "the finest quality of tone." The ostensibly rugged tubes from Triad promised to "reduce service calls" while the apparently invulnerable Milo Radio tube was "the tube that never fails." The extramundane tubes from the Van Horne Company would "make a world of difference in your reception." The Gold Seal Company employed a yet more celestial approach, exhorting its customers to "enjoy perfection." And the Crosely Corporation anticipated the modern demand for realism with their slogan: "You're There With a Crosely Radio Tube." Then again, there was Magnavox. I will let their ad copy stand without comment: "The most noticeable feature of the new Magnavox Radio Tube consists in eliminating the grid."
THE NAME GAME
In addition to the rampant sloganeering, many manufacturers banked on romantically tinged brand names to spruce up their profile-names such as Air-King, Blue Streak, Mello-Tron, Music Master, Royal Blue, Sky-Sweeper, Songbird, and Sunlight Crusader. Then there were the tonalists: Belltone, Cleartone, Golden tone, and O-T Silvertone ("Clear as a Silver Bell"). And the one-upper 'tones: Live-Tone, Real-Tone, Tru Tone, Wonder Tone, and of course, Perfectone.
Like the 'tones, the 'trons came in for more than a few cloying acronyms. Amplitron, Cleartron ("The Master of Space"), Duratron, Dynatron, Musiktron, Radiotron, Supertron, Teletron, and, of course, Thermatron. These are not so bad, but there were some truly vacuous names as well: Blazing Train, Blo-Pruf, Echotron, Good Luck, Goode Tube, Magictron, Kazoo, Ozarka, Uni tone No Bee, and my personal favorite Vacobub (a beautiful bulb in spite of its goofy name).
Not all tube companies relied on hyperbole, however; many were quite sober and straightforward in their ap proach to advertising. Moreover, there existed a panoply of comforting blue chip name brands: Cunningham, Gen eral Electric, Hytron, Ken-Rad, National Union, Philips, Raytheon, RCA, Sylvania, Tung-Sol, and Westinghouse, among others. All of the foregoing are revealed in color, many for the first time, in the more than 400 color photos of this compact encyclopedia of radio tubes. The brands are conveniently arranged in alphabetical order.
THE PHOTOS
As a dedicated tube man, I found that many of these photos took my breath away. Of particular note are the "blues." Arcturus, for example, produced a lovely series of tinted blue bulbs. I must admit, there is something alluring about a blue tube (yes, even the gassy ones).
Another beatific blue tube of note is the Beacon Blue, which had a curvaceous pear shape and smooth, tipless crown. And, of course, there is the fabulous Brightson True Blue, which came packed in a blue, velvet-lined case. It was accordingly touted as "The Finest Radio Tube in the World!" Maybe not, but at least you knew it would arrive safely.
Sodion, on the other hand, doggedly pursued authentic technical innovations, not all of which were uniformly successful. The D-21 employed an elongated-and frosted-glass envelope of elegantly smooth proportions. Gorgeous, I think, is not too strong a word here. Their boxes and cartons, not just the tubes, could in many cases be striking.
The De Forest D-series tubes, for example, came packed in metal canisters, complete with the Master's visage conspicuous on the can. The metal packaging was evidently intended to project an aura of rugged dependability.
Other manufacturers found different ways to project quality in their presentation. Arcturus boxes, with their celestial scene and observatory, seemed to gaze heavenward. More down-to-earth, but nonetheless appealing in its own right, was the Leader box-a plain-as Jane cardboard cylinder carton à la Quaker Oats.
Lightning bolts were a common styling motif, and Continental Tube Labs chose to use a myriad of bolts. The tube packed within Continental's lightning-laden box was evidently lightning proof, being fully ensconced within a copper sheath of--shall we say--masculine proportions. The "copper condom" would not be amiss here.
Most of the tubes from this period exhibit the classic pear shape ("S" envelope) with clear glass, although there are countless variations among the brands. Quite a number of tubes had at tractive logos affixed to the glass. The bases could be interesting, too, as they were often of ceramic or metal-with some brass, some nickel, and some brightly polished.
THE PUBLISHER
This eye-popping picture book originates from Sonoran Publishing of Chandler, Ariz. Sonoran is the dream child of George A. Fathauer (son of George H. Fathauer) of the famous father-son team who built up Antique Electronic Supply from a gleam-in-the eye beginning in 1982. Having built AES into a high-profile purveyor of radio parts and receiving tubes, the two Georges then sold the company in 1994, only to come full circle. Later that same year, the younger George fired-up Sonoran Publishing with the aim of producing world-class books about his original interest-antique radios and their in nards. George Sr., too, has returned to his roots; having become a specialty dealer of collectable radio tubes. Sonoran Publishing is committed to preserving the heritage of the radio age in all its complex dimensions. This is the first book by the publisher himself, and it is an auspicious debut. The book's physical execution and graphical presentation are first-rate--reminiscent of the superb 70 Years of Radio Tubes and Valves (also from Sonoran Publishing). The photos and the paper in both books are of equal high quality.
Information on Sonoran's books is available at their website sonoranpub lishing.com.
IN RETRO
Mr. Fathauer has fashioned a dazzling panorama of thermionic incunabula for the tube world. The emotions evoked by the various photographs, brand names, and slogans range from the sublime to the ridiculous; but throughout it all there is an abiding sense of wonder.
Radio Tubes and Boxes of the 1920s will surely rocket to the top of every tube collector's wish list, and tube lovers of every lineage will no doubt find something of interest here.
The basic feel of the book is wall-to wall tubes and their containers. That, plus the many period ads and announcements, all combine to instill a palpable feeling of "you-are-there" (re-tubing, it may be, the elegant receivers of yesteryear). Anyone interested in vacuum tubes should consider owning this book, as it rounds out an important stable of tube classics by Tyne, Stokes, Thrower, and Mager. These latter books highlight the historical and technical aspects of tubes. In contrast, Radio Tubes emphasizes their aesthetical side-their color, their diaphanous beauty, and their sensuous curves-revealed here as in no other book I have yet seen.
* The colorful career of Elman B. Myers is detailed by Gerald Tyne in Saga of the Vacuum Tube, wherein Myers is drawn as the archetypal "bootlegger."
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Davis, H.B.O., Electrical and Electronic Technologies:
A Chronology of Events and Inventors from 1900 to 1940, The Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, N.J., 1983.
MacLaurin, W.R. and Harman, R.J., Invention and Innovation in the Radio Industry, Macmillan Co., N.Y., 1949.
Mager, B., 75 Years of Western Electric Tube Manufacturing, Antique Electronic Supply, Tempe, Ariz., 1992, Second Ed. 1994.
Stokes, J.W., 70 Years of Radio Tubes and Valves, 1982, Second Edition, 1997, Sonoran Publishing, Chandler, Ariz.
Thrower, K.R., History of the British Radio Valve to 1940, MMA Internat'l Ltd., Hants, England, 1992.
Tyne, G.F.J., Saga of the Vacuum Tube, 1977, Third Printing 1994, Prompt Publications, Tempe, Ariz.
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