Radio! Radio!

By Jonathan Hill

Published by: Sunrise Press

ISBN 09511448 71

This British book first published in 1986 is well known to collectors of UK domestic radio sets. The book now in a third edition has 320 pages and over 1000 illustrations. The pages are A4 size with hard covers and a dust jacket.

Radio! Radio! traces the development of radio from the 19th century through to the 1970s. Its scope does not include military radios or technical circuit design - it does include the development of circuit design

For me the book serves three areas,

The History of Radio
A Guide to Radio Sets for collectors
It portrays a lost style

History

The book details in some depth the development of the technology that enabled wireless communication through to the development of radio receivers. The content is essentially UK related, the international pioneers are not ignored but this is a book telling of the British radio scene. It is easy to read and very well illustrated. As the "golden years" are told the book shows hundreds of photographs of the time.

Guide

With the comprehensive indexes and chronological layout it is easy to look up a radio and see key features of the set including the original purchase price, number of valves, bands etc. Collectors can identify unknown sets and empty cases by looking through what is almost a catalogue of UK manufactured radio sets. Such information allows collectors to research manufacturers, identify new areas of interest and target collections.

Style

I can’t hope to acquire all the radio sets that I would like, with this book I can at least see photograph after photograph of classic radios. Page 159 of the second edition has a large black and white 1940s photograph of a desk with a young woman sat at it. Through the window is a car, to the right of a table and telephone sits a Murphy Model AD94 in a black bakelite cabinet. The whole scene screams out of a lost style that this book both catalogues and preserves.

In my opinion an essential book for the UK radio collector, historian or enthusiast. The book is available direct from

Sunrise Press, 13 Belmont Road, Exeter, Devon EX1 2HF, UK. Telephone (+44) (0)1392 411565 or

Buy online

Disclaimer: All opinions my own. I have no connection with Sunrise Press.

Trivia Quiz: Who designed the case of the EKCO Model AD65?

radio@qsy.to