| TubeRadioLand:Home > Others > Airline 62-350 |
Airline 62-350 Black Bakelite "Streamliner" Radio (1938)
111/2" (W) * 61/2" (D) * 71/2" (H)
*The other two being model 62-351 (brown)
& 62-352 (ivory)
& 62-352 (ivory)
With definitively machine-age styling,
model 62-350 appeared in Montgomery
Ward's catalog for 1938 priced at $10.45.
It was one of a trio of such models, differ-
ing only in color*. Airline was the brand
name of radios sold by Montgomery Ward
in their stores and catalogs. These
sets appeared at a time when machine
age and streamlined form, whether funct-
ional, decorative or both, was the rage in
most things manufactured.
From today's perspective, the brazen
machine-like demeanor of this set from
radio's Golden Era harks back to the
primacy days of coal, the black gold that
fuelled the mighty stream-liners that
billowed and bellowed their way through
the hills and valleys of America, the sub-
lime workhorses that conquered distance
and helped rebuild the nation's prosp-
erity, hauling the populace out of the
Great Depression. So influential were
these big machines that their likenesses
became echoed in the appearances of
more mundane objects, such as radios,
automobiles and kitchen appliances. The
successful industrial designers of this
period grew to be famous during their life
times and their names live on in perpet-
uity. Today, their artifacts enjoy elevated
status.
The 32-650 was built for Airline by Bel-
mont Radio Corporation of Chicago. Its
design patent lists the inventors Louis. J.
Wronke & Richard C. Marholz. These two
were responsible for a number of radios
from the period that are highly collectible
today.
The Airline 62-350 is a 5-tube single
band radio featuring push-button and dial
tuning. The tubes are 6A8G (mixer/LO),
6K7G (IF), 6Q7G (2nd det/ AVC/1st AF),
6K6G (AF power) & 5Y3/5W4 (rectfier). It
is an AC-powered set featuring a power
transformer, which makes it heavy for a
plastic radio; the tubes for the All-Ameri-
can-5, with filaments series strung across
the line, were still a year or two away at
the time this set was introduced.
Schematic (courtesy of NostalgiaAir).
model 62-350 appeared in Montgomery
Ward's catalog for 1938 priced at $10.45.
It was one of a trio of such models, differ-
ing only in color*. Airline was the brand
name of radios sold by Montgomery Ward
in their stores and catalogs. These
sets appeared at a time when machine
age and streamlined form, whether funct-
ional, decorative or both, was the rage in
most things manufactured.
From today's perspective, the brazen
machine-like demeanor of this set from
radio's Golden Era harks back to the
primacy days of coal, the black gold that
fuelled the mighty stream-liners that
billowed and bellowed their way through
the hills and valleys of America, the sub-
lime workhorses that conquered distance
and helped rebuild the nation's prosp-
erity, hauling the populace out of the
Great Depression. So influential were
these big machines that their likenesses
became echoed in the appearances of
more mundane objects, such as radios,
automobiles and kitchen appliances. The
successful industrial designers of this
period grew to be famous during their life
times and their names live on in perpet-
uity. Today, their artifacts enjoy elevated
status.
The 32-650 was built for Airline by Bel-
mont Radio Corporation of Chicago. Its
design patent lists the inventors Louis. J.
Wronke & Richard C. Marholz. These two
were responsible for a number of radios
from the period that are highly collectible
today.
The Airline 62-350 is a 5-tube single
band radio featuring push-button and dial
tuning. The tubes are 6A8G (mixer/LO),
6K7G (IF), 6Q7G (2nd det/ AVC/1st AF),
6K6G (AF power) & 5Y3/5W4 (rectfier). It
is an AC-powered set featuring a power
transformer, which makes it heavy for a
plastic radio; the tubes for the All-Ameri-
can-5, with filaments series strung across
the line, were still a year or two away at
the time this set was introduced.
Schematic (courtesy of NostalgiaAir).
Copyright TubeRadioLand.com
Dec 1938, Texas