With the introduction of Bakelite and Plaskon radios in the early 1930s, manufacturers started giving consumers a wide choice of styles, colors and sizes. In 1935, the International Radio Corp (Kadette) of Ann Arbor, Michigan produced one of the smallest radios available, the 40-series “Jewel”.
A couple decades ago, I bought this elegant Ivory Plaskon radio, it’s the Kadette Jewel model 43. The lines of the case and the unusual design of the grille definitely fit into the Art Deco era. It was surprising to me that a 1935 radio had a grille made of swirled plastic, which is a nice touch.
This is the Kadette 40, which is the Bakelite model. It’s less than 8-inches wide, 6-inches high, and 4-inches deep. This particular radio belonged to my uncle & aunt, Mike and Margaret Hall. I was delighted to find the radio stored in their attic over six decades after they would have bought it. I’m glad they hadn’t thrown it away, because now I have a piece of their history that also fits into my hobby. Even though I’ve sold a lot of radios in recent years, this one is staying in our family.
The red Plaskon version is model 44. There were a total of nine color combinations, model 40 through model 48. The other colors included walnut, tortoise, black onyx, black pearl, marbled black & white, and orchid.
This orchid model 46 belongs to a collector friend. It’s one of the hard to find versions. Actually, all of the colored Plaskon models are highly collectible.
My Aunt Margaret also gave me this 78-RPM Vogue Picture Record. The record is 10-inches in diameter, so you can see how small the Kadette Jewel is by comparison. I love that my Aunt & Uncle had this cool radio, but you can’t blame me for kind of wishing they had chosen an Air King Skyscraper.
Crazy Coincidence: Two days after I made the joke about wishing it was an Air King Skyscraper, I got a rare opportunity, and bought a 1933 Model 66.
