This highly collectible post war radio is made of catalin, a rare material developed in the 1930′s sought after for its beautiful brilliant colors and unique – one of a kind, swirl patterns – the exterior is in near mint, pristine like condition with only minor wear. The detailed orange/brown/yellow swirling of the catalin looks like flame when displayed in bright light or outside – just beautiful – the radio is also electronically restored and sounds great with very good reception and selectivity! The emerson 520 is collectible not only because it is made of rare catalin, but it was also designed by the famous mid century designer raymond loewy, who also designed the coca-cola bottle, the streamlined greyhound bus, and several studebaker automobiles! Below and hear this radio playing! Also, please click. As you can see and hear, this radio looks and sounds amazing and there is only very minor wear. There are blemishes and imperfections on the top, front, sides, bottom, and back – but nothing that really stands out or detracts from the overall look. The dial lens has a small hairline that can be seen in the photos. For radio collectors that have shied away from catalin radio’s due to their high price – this emerson 520 model represents a rare opportunity to start collecting at an affordable level. The cabinet finish is original with no cracks and it sounds great. A nice accompaniment to go with your new radio and ready for framing! It’s a great companion piece to this unique set. Emerson and catalin collectors – don’t let this one slip by! This 5 tube radio sounds great with clear and rich sounds coming from its original 4.5 inch speaker. You will love listening to it for many years to come. Made in the usa by emerson radio & phonograph corp; new york (ny) chassis # is 120029. Restoration details: this emerson was electronically restored by a professional radio restorer where all tubes were tested and any weak ones replaced, any bad wiring replaced, caps replaced as needed, the chassis was cleaned and controls lubricated. The cabinet is all original and has been buffed to a beautiful glass like shine. The style is post- wwii machine age design. Perfect as a functional display piece to show off in your office or home. It would also make a unique gift! It is made of a two tone catalin, with a white styrene panel checkered grille. It has a right front round dial with a gold dial plate which has the usually shrinkage that happens over time – and the top of the grille plate has a small chip in the top left – it should be visible in some pics but it is hard to see under normal lighting. There are 2 knobs, the left is for on/off/volume, and the right is for tuning. The dial light works great and glows nicely accentuating the beautiful dial plate and station frequencies. The dial lens is original and clear with just a small hairline. The silver ball tuning dial is flawless. Emerson 520 had some interesting variations, and made models similar to the 520 on virtually the same chassis of varying materials. There was a model 501, model 502, and the model 504 (which was made of wood), also the model 510 was made of wood. The 520 model had many variations which made it unique – its grill cover panel had either round or square holes and was either black or ivory in color, with either red or beige grill cloth. The frequency numbers in the round dial were either in a 180 degree pattern or 360 degree pattern. Dials colors were either gold, black or blue. Tubes were metal or glass. This particular 520 model is less common and has a gold dial with the silver ball tuning indicator. And an ivory colored styrene grill cover and beige grill cloth! Principle: super heterodyne; zf/if 455 khz; 2 af stage(s). Wave bands: broadcast only (mw). Power type & voltage: ac/dc-set / 105-125 volt. Loudspeaker: permanent magnet dynamic 4.5 inch. Catalin is a brand name for a thermosetting polymer popular in the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1930′s, radio design became more important to consumers and art deco was in full swing. The radio market called for more visual appeal and designers didn’t disappoint. Catalin was a newer material developed in the 1920′s that was leveraged to support the new art deco influenced cabinet designs of legendary radio makers like fada and emerson. Catalin used a special resin formula which created a variety of bright colors. Catalin cabinets stand out from their bakelite and plaskon cousins due to their thickness and polished feel. They appear translucent as well as brightly colored. These beautiful radios are great example of innovation that arose during the depression era and occupy a special place in the hearts of collectors. Emerson 520 magazine advertisement from 1946. Emerson radio, your indispensable line, better style, tone, performance, value, model 520 ac dc radio, with a modern plastic cabinet, 4 point quality, by the specialists in small radio, emerson radio and phonograph corporation new york, ny – world’s largest maker of small radios. 21 cents per gallon, and a stamp was just. Dimensions are 11″ in length x 8.25″ high x 7 in depth. If there are any problems, please contact me and we can review options. Detroit was a boomtown during the height of the radios popularity (1930′s – 1950′s) so this location is home to many rare and hard to find vintage radios – please stay tuned and thank you for your interest!The item “RESTORED Near Mint EMERSON 520 Antique Vintage CATALIN Tube Radio Works Perfect” is in sale since Thursday, May 14, 2015. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Radio, Phonograph, TV, Phone\Radios\Tube Radios\1930-49″. The seller is “radioseek” and is located in Rochester, Michigan. This item can be shipped to United States, to Canada, to United Kingdom, to Japan.
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
- Art Deco MCM Old Bakelite: Catalin Made in USA MINT RARE
