March 1930 Radio News
[Table
of Contents]
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early
electronics. See articles from
Radio & Television News, published 1919-1959. All copyrights hereby
acknowledged.
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"Art
Combines with Precision Engineering," proclaims the Scott Transformer
Company advertisement that appeared in a 1930 edition of Radio
News. I'm not sure how many radios Scott sold, but a fairly
extensive Google and eBay searches turned up only one restored model
of the fancy "artistic" cabinet type. Based on the prices in the
ad, most people probably could not afford to buy them. According
to the BLS*
Inflation Calculator, the $703 "Cortez" radio would cost $9,846.88
in 2014 money. Even the $334 "Cavalier" at an equivalent of $4,678.32
would cost more than many houses in 1930!
Black Tuesday had precipitated just a few months prior to this
March edition, so all the design and manufacturing accommodations
had already been put in place. Plus, publishing lead times were
many months in advance so this promotion likely was arranged and
paid for before the Stock Market crash in October of 1929. "No station
tunes at more than one point on the dial and local stations do not
interfere, even to the slightest degree, with distant reception.
Four Screen Grid tubes are used in this new Scott Model. Think of
it! Four Screen Grid tubes!" Evidently affordable, crappy reception
was good enough for the times.Scott Transformer Company Ad

1931 Scott All-Wave Superheterodyne Console Radio
(RadiolaGuy.com) |
Art combines with Precision Engineering to add laurels of magnificent
dignity to those of world-record achievement now held by Scott.
The Scott Custom-Built World Record Receiver is the precision
instrument of radio. It is a handmade product of the micrometer,
the microscope, the oscillograph, other of the most infinitely accurate
measuring and testing devices known to science, and of an inflexible
determination that nothing short of absolute perfection in building
can ever be productive of complete owner-satisfaction. The
physical and electrical dimensions and characteristics of every
part and piece of wire in each individual Scott receiver are determined
one by one - not to a tolerance - but to exactness, and made to
match one another so perfectly that each completed Scott receiver
will stand as a thoroughly qualified example of Scott precision,
and as a symbol of the world record prowess which distinguishes
Scott Custom-Built Radio from the ordinary. Scott Custom-Built
World's Record Radio has always been purchased for the sterling
qualities of performance its precision engineering has made possible
- Bare-nerve sensitivity! Seemingly unlimited power! Ability to
bring in the greatest number of far distant stations! Superb, perfectly
realistic tone! Positive selectivity! And for its absolute, unfailing
dependability!

Scott Custom Built Receivers

Art Combines with Precision Engineering Now, however, Scott Custom-Built Radio is more than the
perfect answer to the prayer of the radio-minded man. It is also
the' most beautifully clothed radio in the world. It comes in consoles
as fine as the chassis itself; Consoles designed especially for
Scott Radio by great artists - consoles such as you have never seen
before! Some of them are illustrated on the following pages, where
more of the story of Scott Custom-Built Radio is told. E.
H. Scott, designer of World Record Radio - and the laboratory in
which all Scott Receivers are handmade to laboratory standards.
There
is nothing else in radio like Scott Custom Built Receivers
To bring in 117 programs consistently from 19 stations 6000
to 8000 miles away - all within a period of 13 weeks, is not an
ordinary accomplishment. An ordinary receiver could not do it. A
Scott Receiver, custom-built to Scott standards of engineering precision
did do it, and Scott owners are constantly reporting equally remarkable
reception. The New Scott A-C Shield-Grid 10 This,
we believe, is the most powerful broadcast receiver ever designed.
It is considerably more powerful than the original Scott World Record
Receiver. It brings in most of the distant stations with greater
volume than can be used - even in the largest home, and reproduces
all stations in a manner that is nothing short of realism itself.
The new Scott A-C Shield-Grid 10 is likewise perfectly selective.
No station tunes at more than one point on the dial and local stations
do not interfere, even to the slightest degree, with distant reception.
Four Screen Grid tubes are used in this new Scott Model. Think of
it! Four Screen Grid tubes! The resulting amplification is far,
far greater than that obtained in any other receiver we know of.
This means sensitivity, power and tone such as you have never experienced
before. Everything worth listening to is within easy reach of the
new Scott A-C Shield-Grid 10, and so it is in all truth that we
say, "There is nothing else in radio like Scott Custom-Built Receivers."
Now, add to Scott precision, performance and dependability,
the originality, beauty, richness, fineness and genuineness of Scott
Consoles and the last vestige of argument as to which receiver to
buy, is gloriously swept away. The Cortez - an original,
authentic, artistic reproduction of 16th Century Spanish furniture.
It is impossible to conceive of a more beautiful piece. The price
of this model complete is $703. Scott consoles are not mere
cabinets of varied design. They are not merely things of wood, made
to conceal a radio mechanism. Rather, they are studied creations,
each designed to comply perfectly with a definite requirement of
interior decoration. Nor are they made as ordinary consoles are
made. Indeed not. They are handmade, like Scott Receivers, with
just as much care and quality given to the unseen parts as to their
fronts. The five models illustrated on these two pages and
the other shown on the next page are typical. The Cortez, shown
at the left, is authentically Spanish. The romance and lavishness
of the 16th Century Spanish Court is in every minute detail of its
construction and finish. Its beautiful matched burls, its smooth,
perfect inlays and carvings, its gorgeous hand-tooled leather panels
and rich, genuine hand-wrought iron trim add to its fine construction
to give the Cortez a proper place in a room suited to the introduction
of a Spanish motif. In sharp contrast to the Cortez there
is the Scott Moderne, illustrated at the right. This model is very
nearly futuristic and will exactly suit the requirements of living
room or den stressing the modern note. A Model for Every
Requirement In between the Cortez and the Moderne there
are more than a dozen other equally original Scott consoles. Some
that portray the early English, French and German trends and others
that can be described only by saying that there is nothing else
in radio quite like them. Whatever your requirements are - whatever
your taste may be, there is a Scott Console - a genuine, individual,
original work of art, to completely and perfectly suit that requirement
or taste. The next page contains a coupon which will bring
you complete information and large photographs of all Scott Custom-Made
Consoles. It also tells about another new Scott development - the
final requisite of radio pleasure. The Lancaster. at the
left. is another typical example of Scott cabinet artistry. The
price complete is $345. This is the Moderne, a true interpretation
of the ultra-modem in fine furniture design. Note its severe straight
lines, yet how these lines are relieved to graceful softness thru
cleverness in the panelling. The Moderne complete is $351.
The Orleans, at the left, is a Jacobean Cabinet which successfully
catches the rich stateliness and sublime dignity of the Renaissance
period. The price complete is $353. The Cavalier, above.
is authentically Puritan. The precious woods of which it is made,
as well as its fine carvings, give the Cavalier an air of unusual
distinction. The price complete is $334. Above you see the
Abbey, a glorious bit of Old English furniture work, thoroughly
suggestive of the fine things which characterized the period it
so faithfully represents. Massive carvings, deep design and sturdiness
characterize the Scott Abbey. The price complete is $521.
Touch a Button - There's Your Station! Only a thin
cord connects the Scott Remote Control to the Scott Receiver. Yet
what wonders go on inside this little cord. It carries the wish
of the bridge-player, - the bed-ridden, or the reader from his place
of quiet to the Scott Receiver and causes the receiver to instantly
reproduce the chosen program at the mere touch of a button. You
have never experienced the delights of real remote control until
you see this one in operation. The world record performance
and the outstanding beauty of Scott Custom-Built Radio are sufficient
in themselves to decide anyone's preference for these fine receivers.
But Scott also offers you perfected, practical, positive remote
control! Sit at leisure, any distance from your Scott Receiver,
push the button for the station you choose - and there it is, instantly!
Regulate the volume with a tiny knob on the control case. Switch
from station to station by simply pushing buttons. Nothing
Else Like It The Scott Remote Control actually does the
tuning itself. The condensers in the receiver do not move when the
control is being used. There are no motors, no relays, nothing in
fact to get out of order or to become inaccurate. The cord connecting
the Remote Control to the receiver is no thicker than a lamp cord.
Nor does the Scott Remote Control interfere with the regular dial-tuning
of the receiver. Either the dial or the Control may be operated
at will by turning a switch one way or the other. Clip the
coupon and mail it now for full particulars of this truly amazing
new radio development. (Exclusive Representative in Detroit
- Scott Radio Salon, 306 Book B
* BLS =
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Posted February 20, 2014 |