Not on display

EKCO U195

Radio
1953 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Eric Kirkham Cole Limited (aka EKCO) was formed in Essex in 1926. They became an early adopter of plastics, and were known for their work with famous designers such as Wells Coates (see V&A W.23-1981) and Serge Chermayeff (W.15-1978). This simple, attractive radio could be bought new in July 1953 for between £11 and £14. It lacks a traditional tuner, stations were pre-tuned and selected using a switch on its front. The pre-set stations could be adjusted, allowing one long wave and three medium wave stations to be 'stored' at one time. This type was available through Radio Rentals (formed 1930), a company that offered customers home radio sets for an affordable monthly fee.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleEKCO U195 (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Probably phenolic resin ('Bakelite') and Urea Formaldehyde or Polystyrene
Brief description
Radio, model U195; English 1953 man. EKCO
Physical description
Moulded rectangular mottled brown plastic case, the top and bottom are slightly bowed. The front piece is a single piece of moulded white plastic, with an integral grille of horizontal 45° vanes. Running the full vertical length of the set, on its proper left side, is an inset rectangle with two circular control discs, with lozenge-shaped knobs attached. The top is for volume, the lower tunes the radio to pre-set stations. On the lower proper right side is the manufacturer's name.
Dimensions
  • Width: 33cm
  • Height: 25cm
  • Depth: 16cm
Measurements taken from departmental catalogue - not checked on object.
Production typeMass produced
Gallery label
[20th century gallery]

EKCO MODEL U195
Made by Ekco Ltd., Southend-on-Sea, Essex
Great Britain, 1953
Bakelite case with plastic fascia
Circ.292-1976

This unpretentious, simple to operate variation on the push-button type was chosen for Radio Rentals' range of sets. Its chief feature is the colour-coded, pre-tuned selector switch. Although pre-set televisions were common from the 1950s, pre-set radios have never been popular.
Object history
Purchased by the V&A Circulation Department in 1976 from Gustav Metzger [76/444].
Historical context
The first successful radio transmission was made by David Edward Hughes (1831-1900) in 1879. Some years later, in 1896, Gugliemo Marconi (1874-1937) patented a system of electromagnetic radio wave communication which, unlike the already-established telegraph system, was ‘wireless’, meaning signals could be heard by anyone with a radio receiver in range of the broadcast. Marconi established the world’s first radio factory in Chelmsford in 1898, where sets were hand-built to high specifications for mostly scientific, governmental and military customers. Another early customer was Queen Victoria who in 1898 had a set installed at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, so she could communicate with the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, as he convalesced aboard his yacht at Cowes.

Military applications meant that radio technology advanced rapidly during the First World War, and in the 1920s regular civilian broadcasting began, changing the domestic experience forever. The previously diverse parts of the radio; the valves, controls, wires and speakers, began in the mid-1920s to be enclosed inside a single cabinet. In this early period, radios were seen essentially as furniture and some companies employed cabinet-makers and well-known furniture designers. As radios were new to the domestic interior, their design had no precedent, which allowed manufacturers to design them creatively. This struck a chord in the late-1920s and 1930s with the expanding synthetic plastics industry; oil-based plastics were also a recent innovation, the first, Bakelite (phenol-formaldehyde), having been successfully synthesised in 1907. The collaboration between industrial designers and manufacturers gave rise to many very modern radio designs, particularly in America. Tastes in Britain remained, in general, more conservative, favouring wooden cabinets or Bakelite cabinets imitating wood. During the Second World War the manufacture of civilian radios essentially ceased in the United Kingdom, with the exception of the ‘Utility’ radio (see V&A CIRC.678-1975) produced under government directive by 42 companies.

Eric Kirkham Cole Limited, better known as EKCO, was formed in Essex 1926. Cole (1901-1966) had begun making radios in 1922, at a rate of about six per week, selling them for £6 10s each. EKCO became known for their early adoption of plastic materials, installing compression-moulding apparatus in their Southend-on-Sea factory in 1931, allowing them to produce Bakelite cabinets of their own design. They were also known for their work with famous designers such as Wells Coates and Serge Chermayeff, producing, respectively, the iconic circular AD65 (V&A W.23-1981) and AC86 (W.15-1978). EKCO continued to expand, first into car radios and later into television, and was a leading British manufacturer of plastics. In the Second World War, their production and research capabilities were put to use in developing and making radar sets for military use. Injection-moulding facilities were incorporated in 1948, allowing EKCO to produce products with new thermoplastic materials, such as polystyrene.
Summary
Eric Kirkham Cole Limited (aka EKCO) was formed in Essex in 1926. They became an early adopter of plastics, and were known for their work with famous designers such as Wells Coates (see V&A W.23-1981) and Serge Chermayeff (W.15-1978). This simple, attractive radio could be bought new in July 1953 for between £11 and £14. It lacks a traditional tuner, stations were pre-tuned and selected using a switch on its front. The pre-set stations could be adjusted, allowing one long wave and three medium wave stations to be 'stored' at one time. This type was available through Radio Rentals (formed 1930), a company that offered customers home radio sets for an affordable monthly fee.
Bibliographic reference
Hogben, Carol, The Wireless Show!: 130 classic radio receivers, 1920s to 1950s, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1977
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.292-1976

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
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