In my ongoing
quest to thin out my collection, I am or will be posting on Ebay a number of
1920’s battery sets, early crystal sets, and radio accessories that I picked up
over the decades in here in northern New England, and that I never got around
to restoring or even testing. This one is a 1924 Crosley model 51, a 2-tube
regenerative receiver from the dawn of the radio age, one of the earliest sets
Crosley ever produced. Crosley made and sold a lot of these – the company built
its foundation on this set – but most were housed in a little wooden box; for a
sizeable premium, though, you could get this version, considered by many to be
the very first portable radio. And that’s what we have here.
These are quite scarce, and, when they do turn up, are
almost always in pretty rough shape, since people lugged them around for years.
This example, though, as you can see, is quite nice and very clean, and even
comes with two elements that are almost never seen: the leather carrying handle
(which, is you can see in the last photo, is split, but complete and easily
restorable), and the original warranty card, which apparently was never mailed
in. It also has a hand-drawn schematic, made, I assume, by the original owner
nearly a century ago. It’s quite a package! The radio itself is roughly the
same size as a Zenith Transoceanic, measuring 12.5”w x 12.5”h x 8”d. I have
enjoyed displaying it for many years (it’s a real conversation piece) and had
hoped to test and restore it to working condition, but now I’m running out of
space, so it’s time to pass it along to another collector who can restore it or
simply enjoy it as-is, as I have. I’m If you’ve been looking for one of these
in nice, original and unmolested condition – not to mention with those
vanishingly rare extras -- this is your lucky day; you won’t find another one
like it. I offer it here with NO RESERVE
– high bidder takes it!
Be sure to see all the pictures! I'll be happy to
answer any questions you may have, but please try to ask as early as possible,
as it sometimes takes me a while to get to my email. Please see my other
listings, as I am running out of space and am thinning out my collection
considerably. I have several fine items up on Ebay right now, and will be
listing many more in the weeks and months to come, so please keep checking.
Good luck and happy bidding!