Iconic 51X15 S-grill Radio, made by Galvin Mfg. Co. (Motorola) in 1939 from Plain Unswirled Black and Red Catalin, All Original Serviced and Working

In a Nutshell
Simple but Noble - Uncompromising but Attractive - Plain but Sophisticated

Introduction:
Paul V. Galvin [1895–1959] and his brother Joseph [1899-1944] had founded the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in 1928 in Chicago and bought the name (and patents) "Motorola" (composite of motor-car and -ola for moving sound) for their pioneering car radios from inventor William (Bill) Powell Lear [1902 – 1978] in 1930. Others say the name came to Paul himself one morning as he was shaving. Galvin produced most car radios in the 1930's. He invented the walkie-talkie (selling ~40,000 during World War II), followed by 2-way radio systems for police and fire services. And the list goes on: TV, transistor, NASA missions, semiconductors, Integrated circuits, microprocessors, cellphones ... you name it.
Around 1940 Motorola made 3 catalin radios, model 52/53 "Vertical Grille", model 50XC "Circle Grille" and model 51X15/16 "S-Grille", that all three rank very high in catalin world. Especially the latter which is made from rare non-marbled yellow/green and black/red catalin. John Sideli says this in his book about catalin radios (ref.1 and pict.36): "If I had to pick a favorite out of all the radios in this book, I think this would certainly be one of my strongest candidates. Not only is the radio beautifully designed and well put together but the color combinations it was made in are absolutely dynamite. To my knowledge, this is the only radio that was ever made in a black-and-red combination. Everything about this radio is unusual - from its very thin and sleek front panel with the wonderful S curve to its candylike straight-rod handle and knobs and its very Deco dial face in foil. Even the fact that it was made in unmarbleized solid colors was an unusual departure from previous models made by Motorola, but one that was extremely successful and entirely appropriate to this very Moderne design."

Additional information:
ref.1: John Sideli, Classic Plastic Radios of the 1930s and 1940s, New York, 1990, p.111

About my radio:
The radio has a low serial number (15806) and was probably made in 1939. It is in mint condition and has all original parts, including 4 tubes made by National Union Radio Corp. (ties between Galvin and NU were strong since NU in May 1931 introduced an entire series of tubes for car radios with 0.4-A heating). The radio has its original speaker cloth with metal screen backup, asbestos heat shield (I spray-sealed it for safety), back plane with integrated Aero-Vane loop antenna and clips, and spring-loaded handle with original washers, all in exceptionally good condition. The cabinet has no cracks, hairlines, chips, scratches or heat burns, the chassis with speaker, dial and dial lens are original and in excellent condition too. The only new parts are 2 washers for the knobs and the power cord. The radio plays nicely (see movie by clicking on thumbnail 34). Please e-mail me (Kris) for any questions, ich spreche Deutsch, je parle Français.

For the economists only:
No techies this time, it just works fine. A price barometer for the Motorola 51X15 instead:
Sotheby's auction May 27, 2004, The Pierre Lescure Collection, Lot 27: .......... €  5040 (= US$ 6904)
Bonhams auction New York Dec 19 2007, Mark Woolley Collection, Lot 5040 ....... US$  6000
Bonhams auction New York Dec 9, 2009, 20th Century Decorative Arts, Lot 3446 .. US$ 18300
Claudio (http://www.i-t-corp.com/claudio/claudio/images/catalog.html) ......... US$  8500
Mark V. Stein: Plastic Radios, The Antique Radio Collector's Source Book p.162 .US$  6000

Here are the specifications:

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