RCA model 40X-56
Radio
1938-1939 (made)
1938-1939 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Radio cabinet made of wood with a moulded composite wood fascia, prominently displaying the World Fair's Trylon-Perisphere trademark bulding. To the far right, near the tuning dial, is a supplementary rendering of RCA's exhibition building. Carrying handle on top of cabinet. Trylon-Perisphere has been picked out in gold paint.
Object details
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| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Valves, wood, moulded wood composite |
| Brief description | Radio commemorating the New York World's Fair |
| Physical description | Radio cabinet made of wood with a moulded composite wood fascia, prominently displaying the World Fair's Trylon-Perisphere trademark bulding. To the far right, near the tuning dial, is a supplementary rendering of RCA's exhibition building. Carrying handle on top of cabinet. Trylon-Perisphere has been picked out in gold paint. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | [20th century gallery, 1992]
RCA VICTOR NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR RADIO
Designed and made by the Radio Corporation of America RA Mfg. Co. Inc., Camden, New Jersey, U.S.A., 1939
Valves, wooden case, moulded wood composite fascia
W.27-1992
This was one of several 'midget' mains models designed to receive figurative fascias. The 1939 New York World's Fair sought to raise consumer awareness of industry's use of new technology. The producers of this radio were keen to record their presence at the fair, as the view of their building on this souvenir set shows.
(1992) |
| Object history | Purchased in 1992 from Gad Sassower [92/1853]. |
| Historical context | The 1939 New York World's Fair was an international exhibition, it was held on a 492 hectare site at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, New York City. It was attended by more than 40 million people. With its slogan 'Dawn of a New Day', it was the first large trade exposition to focus solely on the future. Planning for the exhibition begun in 1935, at the height of the Great Depression. Its organisers hoped that a show that preached the benefits of modern American technology could be the instrument that might lift the United States from the economic doldrums in which it then found itself. In keeping with the technological theme, President Roosevelt's opening speech was broadcast live on television on 30th April 1939. Dominating the skyline over the Fair were the Trylon and Perisphere, enormous temporary buildings which housed, respectively, the world's longest escalator Democractity: a diorama of a utopian city of the future. These iconic structures appeared on many items, including radios and postage stamps. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Association | |
| Bibliographic reference | p.95
Hawes, Robert, Radio Art (London, 1991) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.27-1992 |
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| Record created | November 1, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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