1901

Rare Memento of the "Talkies."

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:350.00 USD Estimated At:700.00 - 1,100.00 USD
Rare Memento of the  Talkies.
Tall glass-domed radio broadcasting tube, salvaged from one of the first radio stations in America. Made c. 1925, one foot high, Western Electric #212D. Broadcasting power triode tube #212D actually had a profound influence on the development of communication: it was the standard piece of transmitting equipment in most of the nation's earliest radio studios. Bell Telephone Laboratory literature of the period describes this very tube: "When talking motion pictures came in 1926, its popularity was further extended. It gave a voice to the screen in every one of the country's leading theatres until 1930...." Actually contains platinum coatings. Some silvery frosting at top of the heavy clear glass. Tube cost $350 back in 1925! (Those were days when radio receivers were priced as high as $600.) Untested but clean and appears sound; purchased in lower Manhattan in mid-1970s, ironically blocks from RCA headquarters. A fascinating display piece, actually used to send some of the earliest radio programs over the air. "Western Electric's audio equipment from the 1920s and 30s, designed to be used in movie theaters, is now prized by collectors and audiophiles due to its quality construction and sound reproduction..."--wikipedia.