VOLUME 19               SEPTEMBER 2002                NUMBER  9

EDITOR'S COMMENTS

From Antique Radio Classified for September 2002
(Copyright 1996-2002 by John V. Terrey - For personal use only.)

September will be a memorial month forever more. In keeping with that thought, our two lead articles take us back again to the history of Radio Row, the site of the World Trade Center. However, the angle of these stories is different. Syd Steinhardt's "The Death of Radio Row" and Joe Richman and Ben Shapiro's "Radio Row on NPR" paint vivid pictures of what the demise of Radio Row meant personally to the 300 or so shopkeepers long established there.

Some of those very radio dealers live on, with their early Radio Row memories still as fresh as those we all have of 9/11 only a year ago. Reading their stories, we realize that the repercussions of the fate of that site, past and present, are far reaching and perhaps eternal. Today we can relate to their sense of loss, as we continue to deal with all the ramifications of terrorism and its effects on the economy and our personal lives.

Oddly enough, we did not seek out these articles. Instead, the writers found us via our Web site, and we became a resource for them. We contributed more Radio Row information and photos, and they, in turn, were delighted to have their work appear in A.R.C.

Time and again, we have been gratified to find that our role as a resource for those interested in radio and its history is well established. Recently, for example, we were mentioned in an article in the "Antiques" section of The New York Times of June 28, 2002. "Recreating a Golden Age of Radio" by Suzanne Charlé tells about the Jenkins Collection Exhibit at the American Museum of Radio in Bellingham, Washington. The article also tells about radio resources, with A.R.C. figuring very prominently.

A.R.C. also contributed to an upcoming article on the history of the World Trade Center to appear in the New York Times Magazine. We like to think we are recording radio history in every way possible. You are a part of that effort because without your support, this service would not be possible.

Fitting neatly into that concept is the project Steve Auyer describes in his article on how a book on AM broadcasting in Syracuse, New York, evolved. Steve encourages all of us to record local radio history and thereby contribute another chapter to the overall story of this amazing medium.

This article makes an interesting point about the frequent lack of appreciation by current radio station management officials for the station's place in history. This brings to mind another example of lost history the Motorola Museum outside Chicago, once a training stop for trainees around the world, and now closed. General Radio too had a display of early products in their offices, but when the company moved, the artifacts disappeared. It is left to collectors like the Syracuse group to research and document company and station histories.

Photo Review again has an international flair. The U. S., Russia, and Canada are represented, while Erwin Macho came through once again to represent Austria. Since I am an avid battery set collector, Merrill Bancroft's Cardwell receiver and amplifier certainly caught my eye.

Bill Hulbert's Zenith restoration project is definitely an example of a set brought back from the dead. Bill reminds us that sometimes friends in the automotive field can offer the best advice. Remember the story in A.R.C. of an oil filter wrench used to unscrew a horn speaker?

Again we are playing catch-up on auctions. As always we can rely on Ray Chase to report on these events, despite snowstorms or other disasters. The Zettlemoyer auction offered some big-ticket items; for example, a Grebe CR-2 and an RORJ at $4,500 and $1,100 respectively.

These same two items at the Thorn auction (July 2002 issue) sold for $4,700 and $1,700. Therefore, prices appear to be remaining stable. On the other hand, an Adams Morgan 2-5-U at the Thorn auction going for $5,700 was a bargain at $2,200 at the Zettlemoyer auction.

The Eldridge auction had only 28 radio items in conjunction with a general auction. The highlight was an Atwater Kent 60 in a Kiel table selling at $240.

Radio Miscellanea includes the subjects of 1L6 replacement and the Diamond Cut digital processing product, both of which never seem to die. In fact, at Radiofest, I met Melvin George, who had written an article for us in January 1997 on the 1L6. He showed me a printout of his article from a Brazilian Web site. Obviously, these topics and A.R.C. are showing up far and near.

A.R.C. Benefits. Subscribe and buy to help you do just that we offer the following: a toll-free number, (866) 371-0512; Discover, Visa, American Express, and MasterCard accepted; books shipped free in the U. S. by book rate; and for current subscribers, a ten percent discount on all book orders. Please let us know you are a subscriber when ordering.

Coming Radio Events. The fall season is always busy for collectors. In September alone, 42 events are scheduled in the U. S., three in Canada, and one in the U.K. You should be able to find an event anywhere you go near home or on vacation.

Happy Collecting!

John V. Terrey, Editor

ON THE COVER

All sizes, shapes, and colors appearing at the VRPS spring auction grace our cover. Top left, clockwise: a Crosley Model 11-119U, blue/grey "Bullseye"; a 1935 Silvertone Model 1908 tombstone; a Crosley Model 11-103 "Bullseye"; and a Kennedy Model 42 "Coronet" tombstone.