Throughout the 1930s, Philco utilized the talents of many different industrial designers for the design of its radio cabinets. Edward L. Combs produced most Philco cabinet designs through the early 1930s, although some of the company’s 1931-32 models were the product of Norman Bel Geddes. Also, the “wishbone” cathedrals of 1932-33, which all follow the same general style, were designed by Clyde Shuler. By 1934, Benjamin Nash had become Philco’s main cabinet designer.

For each model year, a number of sample cabinets were made in a shop within Philco’s headquarters, Plant 2, at Tioga and C Streets. This shop, part of Philco’s Product Design and Development Division and managed by Arthur Whitehair, took the designs of men such as Combs, Shuler and Nash, and produced a 1/4 scale model of each proposed cabinet, all of which utilized the woods and veneers of a proposed production cabinet.

John C. Hampton (standing at right) works with two unidentified draftsmen in the Philco model shop. Photo courtesy Don Patterson, Radio Age and Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club.

Once the models had been made, they were viewed by a team of Philco sales and marketing executives, who would select the cabinets which would comprise the following season’s line of radios.

After the cabinets had been selected, production drawings were produced for the various manufacturers that would produce the cabinets. While Philco built some cabinets in its own Plant 8, production was also farmed out to a number of subcontractors. Cabinet manufacturers who built Philco cabinets included Maddox Table Company (plant 19), Mengel Body Company (plant 16), Pennsylvania Furniture Company (plant 21), Pooley Furniture Company, H.A. Prock Lumber Company (plant 20), Red Lion Cabinet Company (plant 25), Smith Cabinet Company (plant 17), Wabash Cabinet Company (plant 18) and Watsontown Furniture Company (plant 15), which was later bought by Philco.

In 2005, a number of these 1/4 scale models were sold on the eBay Internet auction site. Some of these models have a tag inside which identify them. Therefore, if you find a small cabinet that closely resembles a Philco cabinet of the 1930s, it may very well be one of these scale models.

Samples of Scale Models from the Philco Model Shop

Photo credits: Color photos – Bill Keller; Black and white photos – Don Patterson, Radio Age & Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club

Models 14RX-TU, 16RX-TU, 17RX-TU, 18RX-TU (1933-34)

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Models 14LZX-SU, 14RX-SU, 16RX-SU, 17RX-SU, 18RX-SU (1933)

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Models 16X, 17XS, 18XS (1933)

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Model 16CPX-TU Century of Progress (1933)

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Models 28L, 38L, 45L, 66L, 89L (1935)

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Models 18H, 49H, 118H, 144H (1935)

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Model 116PX (1936). Also cabinet design used for 1936-37 Philco prototype television set.

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Model 650MX (1936)

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Model 650RX-SU Speaker (1936)

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Model 660X (1936)

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A console that did not make production.

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Another console that did not see production.