| TubeRadioLand:Home > Others > Reflections |
"Reflections of Hollywood" Blue Mirror Radio (circa 1936)
This small blue mirror and chrome radio
from the mid-1930s is similar to the
"Reflections of Hollywood" models that sold
at the Estes mirrored radios auction held in
November of 2005. It was manufactured in
Los Angeles by one of the small indepen-
dent "boutique" radio assembly shops that
served the largely custom niche markets
that existed at the time. The chassis and
escutcheons would have been purchased
from a local manufacturer or distributor.
The cabinet is comprised of a plywood
shell faced on four sides with custom made
mirrors of blue Galena glass, retained in
place by chrome accented strips. Custom
glass knobs complete the appointments.
The grille cloth on my set is a replacement
and one of the original glass knob inserts
is missing. However, I digitally added it in
the photograph.
The chassis is similar to an Edison-Bell 53.
Photos of the set with the front mirror
removed are shown to the right (click to
enlarge). The cutouts for the escutcheons
look home brew and were perhaps added
or enlarged after the cabinet was manu-
factured. The original grille cloth was glued
to the rear of the front mirror as seen in the
middle-right photo (fragments of the light
colored cloth can be seen still attached to
the mirror to the left). Over time, the glue
had a tendency to mar the silvering on the
mirror, and not wanting to exacerbate this
nor to attempt removal of the old cloth and
glue remnants, I chose to attach the rep-
lacement cloth to the front panel. Note that
the words "SELECTOR" and "VOLUME"
seen on the escutcheons in the lower photo
are concealed by the silvering of the front
mirror once it is mounted. This reveals
that the escutcheons were originally manu-
factured for some other radio and were
procured for installation on this set "as is".
Interestingly, the escutcheons are marked
with the words "Kennedy, LA".
from the mid-1930s is similar to the
"Reflections of Hollywood" models that sold
at the Estes mirrored radios auction held in
November of 2005. It was manufactured in
Los Angeles by one of the small indepen-
dent "boutique" radio assembly shops that
served the largely custom niche markets
that existed at the time. The chassis and
escutcheons would have been purchased
from a local manufacturer or distributor.
The cabinet is comprised of a plywood
shell faced on four sides with custom made
mirrors of blue Galena glass, retained in
place by chrome accented strips. Custom
glass knobs complete the appointments.
The grille cloth on my set is a replacement
and one of the original glass knob inserts
is missing. However, I digitally added it in
the photograph.
The chassis is similar to an Edison-Bell 53.
Photos of the set with the front mirror
removed are shown to the right (click to
enlarge). The cutouts for the escutcheons
look home brew and were perhaps added
or enlarged after the cabinet was manu-
factured. The original grille cloth was glued
to the rear of the front mirror as seen in the
middle-right photo (fragments of the light
colored cloth can be seen still attached to
the mirror to the left). Over time, the glue
had a tendency to mar the silvering on the
mirror, and not wanting to exacerbate this
nor to attempt removal of the old cloth and
glue remnants, I chose to attach the rep-
lacement cloth to the front panel. Note that
the words "SELECTOR" and "VOLUME"
seen on the escutcheons in the lower photo
are concealed by the silvering of the front
mirror once it is mounted. This reveals
that the escutcheons were originally manu-
factured for some other radio and were
procured for installation on this set "as is".
Interestingly, the escutcheons are marked
with the words "Kennedy, LA".
Copyright TubeRadioLand.com