Aug-Oct 1930

Additions to the June 1930 Philco line (August - October 1930)

Overview

In August 1930, Philco added two new mod­els to its radio line­up - one for the very wealthy, and one which would make Philco famous.

The new Con­cert Grand was basi­cal­ly a Mod­el 296 in a much more ornate cor­ner cabinet.

The oth­er new mod­el, the Baby Grand or Mod­el 20, was the first such offer­ing by any of the major radio man­u­fac­tur­ers. (Some small­er radio mak­ers had already begun offer­ing "midget" radios; the term "cathe­dral" or "bee­hive" would not come into use until decades lat­er, when they became col­lectible items.)

At the price of $49.50 less tubes, reach­ing the mar­ket ten months after the 1929 stock mar­ket crash which marked the begin­ning of the Great Depres­sion, it was an instant hit; mak­ing Philco the num­ber one radio man­u­fac­tur­er in the indus­try. Philco would remain the top radio mak­er in the USA until after World War II.

In Octo­ber, Philco took the "econ­o­my" radio idea a step fur­ther, intro­duc­ing a new, small con­sole which was dubbed the "Baby Grand Con­sole." The new mod­el con­tained the same chas­sis and speak­er as did the Mod­el 20 Baby Grand (cathe­dral).

Through­out this time, the Philco mod­els which were put on the mar­ket in June 1930 remained available.

Model Index

All June 1930 mod­els remained in the Philco lineup.

Click on a thumb­nail to see infor­ma­tion and pho­tos for each model:

The Baby Grand

20

The Con­cert Grand Radio-Phonograph

Con­cert Grand

The Baby Grand Console

20 Low­boy

Models

The Baby Grand

Model 20

Here is Philco's very first "cathe­dral" mod­el. The cir­cuit­ry is sim­i­lar to the much larg­er Mod­el 77, but the parts are arranged on a much small­er and lighter chassis.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $49.50

Num­ber made: 343,903 (Note: This fig­ure includes Jan­u­ary 1931 Mod­el 20 Revised or Deluxe)

The Concert Grand Radio-Phonograph

Concert Grand

A set made for the very wealthy, but per­haps it was too "Grand" for the times. Due to eco­nom­ic con­di­tions, such a set could not pos­si­bly have sold very well, and it didn't; mak­ing this mod­el very hard to find today.

One needs to be seen to appre­ci­ate how large this radio is. It was made to be placed in the cor­ner of a room; the back sides are beveled for this purpose.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $350

Num­ber made: 300

The Baby Grand Console

Model 20 Lowboy

The Mod­el 20 chas­sis and speak­er was also used in this very com­pact floor mod­el cab­i­net, which made a "fur­ni­ture" mod­el radio affordable.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $69.50

Num­ber made: 70,000