Early Wireless pre-1940

Sold for £50

1937. The later version of the 135, gained a SW band and magic eye, plus a string nightmare lift-up dial - however it lost one speaker. Tidy condition, overhauled and working.
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Sold for £125

c.1934. A fairly unusual set, a 3 valve battery TRF made for the well known Sheffield retailer. Very deco inspired design, has been restored and working with a beautifully made power unit, giving the HT, LT and GB voltages. The unit connects by the original battery cables so can be used with other sets.
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Sold for £125

1934. Typical mid-30s set, very good all original condition. Believed restored but not yet tested, cabinet looks very good, 'M' in speaker grille undamaged.
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Sold for £75

1933. Actually one of the rarer 'Rising Sun' sets, but not really one of the best examples. It is what I would call an 'auction special'. The cabinet has been repolished, not bad, but every knob is wrong, and all the valves were missing. (Will replace except for the PP3/250.) Back is present, and it looks OK otherwise.
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Sold for £125

c.1936. A TRF battery set, aimed at the remaining rural users or those who wanted a cheap set that was dear to run. It was however nicely made as you would expect from EMI at that time. This is one of the best examples you will ever see of this set, which looks as if it has had little use. Original back, cloth etc. and works well. It comes with a very good little mains power unit of a professional standard. Lovely set.
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Sold for £250

1935. A well known Serge Chermayeff designed Ekco, but in the rarer black and chrome finish. This set does need a bit of work, but it is capable of being one of the best around. The main thing is the cabinet, which has no stress cracks or bad scratches. The chassis is also extremely clean. It needs a new cloth and the dial straightening, plus two chrome knob centres.
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Sold for £150

1938. Ekco embraced the automatic tuning concept with a series of models in 1938/9, starting with this quite impressive set. It uses motor driven tuning and a form of automatic frequency control to compensate for the mechanical inaccuracies of the system. This set has undergone a very thorough restoration of chassis and cabinet which would cost at least two or three times the asking price of this set to have done to this standard. A nice example, working well and looks very good.
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Sold for £195

1937. Bakelite cabinet, large coloured dial. 3 band superhet. Very good clean original condition, no damage to cabinet, overhauled and working. Original back.
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Sold for £175

1932. The early version of this set which was made before the fire at the works, which made Ekco re-use this cabinet for the M23. 3 valve AC mains TRF with balanced armature speaker, handsome cabinet by J. K. White. This is not the same one as in the last issue- it is unrestored, very good genuine original condition, but the back cover is missing. (Plywood, so not hard to make.)
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Sold for £75

1936. Attractive set with large oval dial, 3 band, good spec. with push-pull output, RF amp. and Magic Eye. Stored many years but looks tidy, untested. Cabinet good.
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Sold for £75

c.1931. The first mains set Murphy produced, famous cabinet design by Russell. Nice cabinet, solid walnut, untested, no back and one wrong knob.
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Sold for £65

Typical mid 30s Philips, good looking set, AC/DC overhauled and cabinet in good restored condition.
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Sold for £150

1937. Quite a rare 30s bakelite Ferranti,' attic find' condition, missing back and the celluloid window for the tuning meter display over the dial, otherwise looks complete and good condition, all knobs etc. present. Cabinet good.
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Sold for £125

1936. Pleasantly styled set by the Anglo-American Ferguson company. Quite compact, AC/DC superhet, 3 band with 'Airplane' style dial. No back, untested as yet but looks very tidy.
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Sold for £150

c.1939 American midget in cream metal cabinet. 110v, MW only, pristine condition throughout and working. Only about 4" high- not much bigger than a tin of beans but uses octal valves and works surprisingly well.
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Sold for £150

1934. Early 'Octode Super' model, small size, exceptionally clean and original looking, really does look clean as a pin inside and out, a time warp find- overhauled and works as well.
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Sold for £65

1939. Invicta sets were also made by Pye, and used virtually identical chassis to current Pye models but in different cabinets. This set uses a very similar chassis to the Pye MP model, apart from the push-button station selection. Basic 3 band 4 valve 'short' superhet, quite attractive typical late 30s styling. Overhauled and working.
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Sold for £120

Rather an old fashioned look for 1936, this is a handsome set in an American influenced style. Very original condition, 2 band AC, restored and working, some small marks on the cabinet but generally a very clean set.
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£650

Excellent example of this classic Wells Coates design. All original cloth, knobs, scale etc, overhauled and works well.
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Sold for £75

Excellent condition set, stunning veneers, really shows off what an R.D. Russell design can look like if in the correct condition. Untested.
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Sold for £95

1934. One of R. D. Russell's most famous designs for Murphy. This set looks absolutely pristine. Before you reach for your credit card, there is a snag. I presume it has been repolished but it has been done to a first-class standard. However, there are about a dozen woodworm holes in one side, which look as if they have appeared since the set was refurbished. Overhauled and working.
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Sold for £220

1932. The early version of this set which was made before the fire at the works, which made Ekco re-use this cabinet for the M23. 3 valve AC mains TRF with balanced armature speaker, handsome cabinet by J. K. White. This a pristine example, hard to imagine a better one, with original cloth and everything just as it should be.
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Sold for £175

c.1936. One of the range of sets with the large 'Airplane' dial, handsome "Tombstone' style cabinet of obvious USA ancestry, but this is a UK model. 3 band, AC/DC. Very good clean original condition, a handsome set that looks very genuine, overhauled and in working order.
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Sold for £150

1934. Elegant Wells Coates designed set using the same styling elements as the AD65. Brown bakelite, a difficult one to assess as in some ways it is very good but has a couple of problems. Looks well as it has a good scale and original cloth, perfect back with all original back screws, very clean and overhauled. The bad news: Very slight stress crack, 2 wrong knobs.
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Sold for £125

c. 1938. I have never seen another Sparton radio made for the UK, but this is one such example. It has 'Sparton Radio, Wembley' on the back (perhaps that's Wembley, Illinois.) Very clean original looking condition, mechanical pre-set tuning, magic eye tuning indicator. 5 valve plus ME, 3 band. Gram socket optimistically marked 'Gram & TV sound'. Very good clean original condition. Working, appears to have been overhauled. Quite an impressive unusual radio.
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Sold for £295

1934. A splendid German radio by H. Mende of Dresden. One of the earliest superhet models on sale in Germany, this is a beautiful radio in a stylish bakelite cabinet, very clean and original condition. No cracks or damage and looks to be all correct as regards back, knobs etc. Similar to the curved top models which sell for £4-500 due to their shape, but still a great looking radio and quite rare. Not yet investigated internally but looks completely original.
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Sold for £75

c.1940. USA Midget set, we had an identical one a while ago. This one has its original box, and the set is clean looking but has a crack in the top. Not tested. Another 1940s Board Of Trade import set, we have had a few lately but they are generally not that common.
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Sold for £150

1933. One of the best sets they made, has a real presence and a great deal of style, incredible build quality which they never surpassed. has two large energised speakers, not true stereo of course but McMichael were convinced that it gave added realism to the sound. Very clean condition, all original looking but has been overhauled. A very nice but very large (2ft wide) and heavy radio.
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Sold for £295

1938. The classic 'People's Set' in black bakelite. Very good cabinet, original cloth, dial, overhauled and working. Has a very good copy back fitted, otherwise a tidy original set.
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Sold for £125

A big, solid radio with attractive bakelite details and a better than average spec. with a tuning meter (doesn't work of course) and variable IF coupling for tone/selectivity- a typical Philips mechanical wonder. Which other maker would use a brass strip for a dial cord? Original cloth, good cabinet (slight repair), working order. One of their first superhet range after they finally gave up on the Superinductance.
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Sold for £185

1937. This is a monster radio, in every way. It stands a good 2 feet tall and weighs around half a hundredweight. It has 12 valves (sorry, tubes) and boasts a massive juke box type speaker. It covers LW, MW and 6 SW bands with an RF amplifier, push pull 6L6 output, Magic Eye and 2 5Z3 rectifiers! It does work although could do with a bit of sorting all round, the cabinet has had what I would call an average quality restoration but could be easily improved.
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Sold for £85

Popular set, (a worse one than this sold recently on eBay for over £100) very original condition. The 'M' on the speaker fret is NOT broken, but the same can't be said of the PX4.. In very original 'attic find' type condition, well worth restoring. PRICE £85
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Sold for £65

1939/40. Introduced at the 1939 radio show, immediately before the war, this simply styled 5 valve set was a relatively luxurious set, having 'all-wave' coverage and a Magic Eye, but is a 5 valve AC-DC design in a very plain cabinet. It would appear that they were already preparing for war, and it was produced in small numbers during 1940. (We have a copy of a letter and information from EMI to show this.) Repolished, very clean looking unusual set, overhauled and working.
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Sold for £150

c.1940 Brown bakelite midget set, absolutley cute, one of the 'Board of Trade' sets imported from the US during WW2 to keep us going when our own radio factories were busy, er, fighting a war. Has British stations on the dial, LW band, 240v. Excellent condition, but no back so observe safety precaustions.
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Sold for £120

1938. 'Junior Pee Wee' Not a great name, but a cute little radio. USA made but fitted with a line cord for the UK market. MW only. About 6" wide. Brown bakelite, no cracks, overhauled, working. Back poor.
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Sold for £150

Popular set, (a worse one than this sold recently on eBay for over £100) very original condition. The 'M' on the speaker fret is NOT broken, but the same can't be said of the PX4.. In very original 'attic find' type condition, well worth restoring. PRICE £85
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Sold for £125

1939. American wartime Board of Trade set, LW/MW, but has been wired for 110v Overhauled, ivory - nice but has 2 small hairline cracks.
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Sold for £95

1935. This is a slightly unusual EMI set, which has more bakelite than usual in the cabinet front, and is an AC/DC design. In very clean original condition, but overhauled and working. A nice quality mid-30s 2 band set, at less than the value of the work done.
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Sold for £125

1939. A first-class example, identical to one we had a while ago. Fully restored to a high standard. These are a very attractive little set that work well.
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Sold for £875

1937. Styled by Serge Chermayeff, this set looked ahead of its time for 1937. The angled full-width dial would soon be the norm, but was this the first? Excellent example in every way. Original cloth, good dial, overhauled and working.
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Sold for £195

1933 One of the classic 'Superinductance' sets, in very good restored condition. A very good example of this desirable set, very original and correct except there is a repaired crack in the front panel.
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Sold for £150

1937. Styled by Serge Chermayeff, this set looked ahead of its time for 1937. The angled full-width dial would soon be the norm, but was this the first? Excellent example in every way. Original cloth, good dial, overhauled and working.
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Sold for £195

1930s kit to build the "All-World All Range Superhet Kit". It also claims: "For home constructors only- America and Australia on your Loud-Speaker!" This is the complete kit (not checked but looks all there) in original carton with superb illustration on lid and full colour construction book.
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Sold for £150

These sets are always in demand as they are attractively styled and work very well. They have a PX4 triode in the output stage which accounts for the first £50 of the value when these sets appear for sale (if it is any good, or indeed present). This one seems good, the set is overhauled and working. It has had a repolishing job done which has brought out the contrasting veneers nicely but I would say it is not of first class quality, nor is the replacement cloth to my taste, but the set looks very smart and represents many hours of labour in the restoration.
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Sold for £195

1932. One of the first results of the EMI-Marconi merger was this elegant set which shared a chassis with the HMV 501 table radiogram. This is a very good example, the cabinet is especially nice and original, and the set is overhauled and working. The only thing I can criticise is the cloth, which is not correct, but there is a better one available, which we could supply if it offends you.
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Sold for £95

1938. Large 3 band superhet with pre-set push button controls. This is a good quality set in very good original condition, has been overhauled and works well. A very substantial set, well made and with a quality feel.
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Sold for £250

1933. Unusual combination of a very attractive radio and an original advertising poster. This is one of the best looking Marconi sets of the period, in very original condition, working but appears unrestored, apart from a (very good) replacement cloth. The large poster has had some restoration to tears etc and is mounted in a frame, making a very rare and interesting display.
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Sold for £50

c.1934. Clone of Marconi 294 battery set, looks all original - cabinet finish needs attention.
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Sold for £95

1934. Interesting set made by the Birmingham based Telsen company, (named after the managing director.) Appears to be all original, not messed with at all. Conventional 2 band mains TRF, solid construction, nice genuine old radio.
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Sold for £95

1933. Large imposing set in good clean and very original condition. A 2 band, 4 valve TRF of typical design, very robustly made with nicely styled Art Deco influenced motifs. Working order, looks a very genuine unmolested set in original cabinet finish.
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Sold for £150

1932. J.K. White designed this cabinet for Ekco for the 1931 RS2, and it was retained for the M23 after the major fire in 1931. 3 valve AC TRF, beautiful original cabinet, correct back, working order. Replaced speaker grille cloth.
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Sold for £150

1938. Very unusual design, small mains portable radio with 'roller' tuning control. Very good condition, restored, working, very clean and good cabinet finish. These sets were rather cramped and known to overheat, so maybe not a great set for everyday use (unless you have a fire extinguisher handy.) Very collectable set though, hard to find in such nice condition.
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Sold for £95

1937/8 Unusual radio, one of the 'spin wheel' range but the only one in a bakelite cabinet. These sets very seldom seem tosurvive intact, the cabinet is thin and the chassis heavy, plus the large grille cloth and perspex dial cover are vulnerable. This one has the original cloth and is working. There are no cracks in the cabinet itself, but a small crack in the removable section round the control panel. Otherwise a very good example of a fairly rare set.
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Sold for £275

1934 GEC 'Universal Mains 3', in stylish bakelite cabinet, sometimes called the 'Skyscraper'. Very basic TRF using AC/DC technique including a barretter and a 'Catkin' valve. Collectable, unusual, but apoor performing radio even in its day. Lovely example, has the back, all original inside and out. Working, very nice example, no cracks or repairs in the rather delicate bakelite cabinet.
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Sold for £95

1932. Oak cased battery set, the most basic in the Marconi range at the time. However, this is a pristine example and has a neatbattery eliminator fitted. Apart from a small repair on the cloth it is excellent. Not too big either.
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Sold for £395

1936. An icon of 30s design. made down to a price that few British manufacturers could equal, it is a hybrid of US and UK design- (although some people might use a different word..) I don't need to describe it, beyond saying that I doubt you will ever see a nicer one. Everything looks original, the set is working and in superb order throughout.
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Sold for £695

1934. This classic set needs no introduction. Everyone knows it, the famous reflex superhet in the round Wells Coates designed brown bakelite cabinet. No cracks or repairs to the cabinet, very clean original looking set, has the wrong speaker fitted but these are a standard Rola unit. Overhauled and working, a good example of this desirable model at a very realistic price. Why take a chance on ebay, when you can have a good clean working example at this money?
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Sold for £150

1937. One of the later 30s bakelite Ekco models, a nice looking set, overhauled and working. It would be an excellent example except it has a non-original back, and there is evidence of the dial starting to discolour.
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Sold for £195

1929. Rare early mains set, Mk2, as shown at the Manchester Radio Exhibition in 1929 (Ferranti were based at Moston.) 3 valve TRF, oak cabinet. Cost £26 new, - little cheaper than the HMV 904 TV of ten years later. Excellent condition, overhauled, not a set that comes up very often, in fact I cannot remember having one before.
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Sold for £125

c.1932. Oak cased mains radio of unusual construction, a 3 valve TRF covering LW and MW bands. Very good original condition, overhauled and in working order. A first-class example.
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Sold for £275

1933. One of the first Chermayeff designs for Ekco. Smaller and rather more attractive than the AC74. This is a very good example of this set, no cracks or damage, very correct in every way, overhauled and working.
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Sold for £220

1936. Every now and then we get an item which is in such spectacular condition that it is hard to believe it is so old. This radio is just in superb condition, appears unmarked and original- it has been restored internally, but there is nothing to see which is not original and perfect. A conventional enough 3 band mains superhet, but a very attractive one and you won't find better.
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Sold for £295

1932. A very basic set, (2v TRF), designed for local station reception. It never sold very well in the UK and was believed very rare until examples began to appear from Europe. (This set was bought at one time for £750, and I remember swapping a black AC76 for one!) They are still quite rare and this is a very good example, working, looks all original although the cloth could be a repro.
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Sold for £120

1939. This is a well known little set, they were a British set made very much in the American style of the 40s. This is the pre-war version- a 1945 re-issue had a square edged cabinet. This is a superb example, very original but overhauled and working.
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Sold for £195

1932. A basic 2v plus rectifier TRF by Lotus Radio of Liverpool. We have had these before, but not in such good condition. It is a great looking little set, cabinet is excellent, looks as if it has probably been repolished but very well. Otherwise all original- cloth, knobs etc., overhauled and working.
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Sold for £150

1940. American midget set, brown bakelite. MW, 110v. Very good clean condition, nice dinky little set. About 8" wide. Overhauled and working.
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Sold for £50

1936. Well known set, sometimes called the 'Theatrette', famous for having no chassis, but with components fixed directly to the bakelite case. This is a good clean example, some staining on the (original) cloth but otherwise in very good condition. Not tested.
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Sold for £125

1930. We have often had this set, made in various guises from 1928 on. However, this one is in its original carton, a colourful sturdy box with wooden supports. Set and box are in very good condition.
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Sold for £295

In over 20 years I have had many more examples of all the round models than of this model. For some reason they are rarer than their contemporary models, and are prone to damage. Very few have undamaged bars. This is a totally original example, absolutely right, untested.
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Sold for £85

1937. Typical solidly made EMI set, 3 band 5 valve radio in chunky cabinet. Good clean condition, top has been repolished at some time but the HMV logo has been preserved. Not restored but works.
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Sold for £40

c.1939, large table set, 3 band, magic eye, very clean original condition, inside and out except varnish flaking on 1 speaker fret bar. Untested
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Sold for £1500

This is one of the most original sets you could find, it looks like it has never been touched but has been subtly overhauled. Everything appears original down to the back screws. The stand is spot-on as well, no dobt that it is correct, so the pair are good value at this price.
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Sold for £275

One of the best examples I have ever seen of this Wells Coates designed set. It is pristine, cloth perfect, nice shiny crack-free cabinet, just as good inside and overhauled very professionally, no new parts visible, top example.
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Sold for £75

Unusual model from 1934-5, very heavy and large set, has the tray which slides out to show the new Lucerne Plan wavelengths. Overhauled and works very well, has a bar type tuning indicator. Much less common than the 66 of the same year.
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Sold for £195

Tiny little American midget mains TRF, very cute and won't take up much space. Very clean condition, overhauled and working with original line cord. The previous owner payed £300 for it and although market conditions won't bear that price now you can see why it appealled.
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Sold for £95

1934. 6 valve battery transportable with frame aerial. Quite a high specification set, possibly aimed at the household without mains rather than the 'second set' market. Nice looking radio in very good condition, all original and believed working although we have not tried it. Quality built, opening wooden back, bakelite trim and 'fluid light' tuning, with original cloth.
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Sold for £195

1932 Art Deco inspired solid walnut cabinet with bakelite fan over the speaker. This set was one of the first GEC models with integral speaker, of their own design. TRF with seperate aerial and reaction tuning controls, not very user-friendly.Very good conditon, working, has original cloth which is fairly worn but the set is very original throughout.
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Sold for £295

Handsome Anglo-American set from 1936, super looking model with Magic Eye, 4 bands with RF stage, split section illuminated Airplane type dial. Very good condition cabinet, restored and working well.
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Sold for £350

Superb looking and very rare set, 1932, nice quality mains TRF in lovely original condition, restored and working. Very clean and original rare set.
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Sold for £275

The famous 'Ovaltiney' model 634A, one of the 1932 Superinductance range. This is a very good clean example, which has had a thorough restoration and works well. It has lost the bands of stain round the top and sides, but the front has exceptionally nice veneers. original cloth, back etc.
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Sold for £895

Ekco AD36, 1935. The much rarer black and chrome version of this AC/DC TRF designed by Wells Coates. This is a beautiful example, original cloth, knobs etc, no damage to the cabinet and inside it looks as new, although it has had a meticulous restoration including replacing capacitors in original casings. You will wait a long time to see a better one.
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Sold for £200

The famous Nazi 'People's Set', the Kleine Empfanger (small receiver) is well known to collectors. This is a first class example, has the swastika emblem intact, cloth appears original, no cracks or damage. Made by Telefunken. Working.
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Sold for £50

Cossor 71 1939. 3 band superhet made intermittently through the war. Not very exciting, but a super example in excellent condition, fully restored to a high standard. You won't be disappointed. (Or buy one at an auction for £15, then spend £150 getting it restored to this standard!)
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Sold for £50

Empiric 3 valve portable, c.1934. Very unusual compact portable, 3 valve, a marvel of miniaturisation for its period, in red rexine case, only about 10"x8"x6". Looks complete, a bit tatty but will easily restore.
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Sold for £60

Alba radiogram by A.J. Balcombe Ltd. Originally a battery model, with spring driven Garrard turntable. It has been converted professionally a long time ago, (maybe 1940s) for mains operation by means of a power unit in the battery compartment and fitting mains valves. All complete and original with a nice bakelite tonearm, very good tidy cabinet, no worm. Looks a worthwhile project.
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Sold for £65

Ambassador, made in Brighouse, Yorks. 3 band table radio c. 1936, is just about working but could do with a general overhaul.
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