See more objects with the tag industrial design, portable, futuristic.

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Object Timeline

1950

  • Work on this object began.

1960

  • Work on this object ended.

1992

  • We acquired this object.

2011

2015

2017

2024

  • You found it!

Drawing, Design for Tube Radio with Speaker on Top

This is a Drawing. It is dated ca. 1955 and we acquired it in 1992. Its medium is pastel, brush and gouache, pen and black ink, graphite on green paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

While large phonograph cabinets concealed family radios, portable radios were light and flashy, attracting younger consumers eager to listen to expanded radio programming outside of the home. This design embraces futuristic and colorful style. Crosley’s radio designs favored bold colors, and this unusual cylindrical shape distinguished this portable radio from those of other low-cost competitors.

It is credited Museum purchase through the gift of Mrs. Edward C. Post.

This object has not been digitized yet.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 47.3 × 57.1 cm (18 5/8 × 22 1/2 in.)

Cite this object as

Drawing, Design for Tube Radio with Speaker on Top; USA; pastel, brush and gouache, pen and black ink, graphite on green paper; H x W: 47.3 × 57.1 cm (18 5/8 × 22 1/2 in.); Museum purchase through the gift of Mrs. Edward C. Post; 1992-183-1

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition The World of Radio.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18639691/ |title=Drawing, Design for Tube Radio with Speaker on Top |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=18 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>