Truetone Deco Cathedral Wooden Radio Beautiful Condition, May Not Be Fully Functional Parts.

It was the successful network of Western Auto Supply Co.,whose numerous locations throughout the rural America made Truetone radio into a national brand. Western Auto Supply carried a variety of merchandise such as: automotive parts; firearms, tires bicycles; lawn mowers; home appliances, and radios. To my knowledge, most of the Truetone radios sold were tabletop models.Their product line varied from simple 4 tube designs to elaborate tabletop high count multi tube models with push button power tuning. In the world of collecting, this is without question one of my favorite radios ever built and rarely seen.

According to historic records, Western Auto was established in 1909. Western Auto Supply offered a new type of marketing by franchising dealers who were mainly located in small cities.

As with any business, you either grow or you die, business never remains the same, as the driving force of the company, his business lasted until it was sold to Beneficial Corporation in 1961 and later resold to Western Auto’s management in 1985. This business arrangement lasted another 3 years when the retail chain was again resold to Sears. Realizing that the entire store chain was in need of electronic upgrades in a highly competitive market Sears sold most of the store locations to Advanced Auto Parts which lead to the end of the store name as Western Auto in 2003.

Condition as follows:

1) Original Speaker

2) Original knobs

3) Original grill cloth

4) Originl tube sheilds

5) No missing Veneer

6)  The finish is beautiful 

7) The radio measures: 16” wide x 18 ¼” high x 12 ½” deep. 

8) Model unknown

It also should be noted that George Pepperdine the founder of Western Auto was a very ambition civic minded person who realized the importunacy of education. Prior to 1900, it was only the rich who could afford education, because there was no general education system. Therefore, he established Pepperdine University making it his reason in life to provide education for the betterment of mankind.

Legal caution:

This radio is for decoration only, if you should decide to use this radio, you use this radio at your own risk. This is an old electrical device that can short which was made of substandard parts with no safety circuit protect. I will not be responsible for any damages, loss, material health injuries; legal fees, and environmental concerns for testing and disposal. It also should be noted that radio manufacturers use toxic and dangerous internal materials in the construction of this radio which varied from manufacturer to manufacturer, therefore this caution will serve as notice to the buyer and will not be the responsibility of the seller for any of the legal concerns under all conditions including resale from the buyer.