Rare, KEY to the AIR, Radio outfit, sold!
Patents, click on any image to see larger image!
This exceedingly rare one tube radio was manufactured by Stafford Radio Co., in Medford Hillside, Massachusetts, USA. The model is "KEY to the AIR." The circuitry of the radio is unknown as I could not find a schematic to this rare radio. However, according to radiomuseum.com, the circuitry of this radio was called a "Neuflex."
The radio bears the remark "PATS. PEND." However, I was unable to find any patents related to this radio. This radio uses a cristal or solid state detector manufactured by Stafford Radio Co. which is easily removed from the radio if needed as shown in picture #9.
Stafford Radio Co., also manufactured a so called "KEY to the AIR CAGE ANTENNA" to go with this radio. The antenna, probably more scarce as the radio itself, is still in its original box with instructions. On the box the following claims were made:
"The Only Indoor Antenna System For Efficient Long Distance Reception."
This antenna was sold for the price of $2.00 back in 1925, (in today's Dollars about $34.00.) The instructions describe how to connect this antenna to the radio.
The radio was tuned with two metal squares which could be moved by hand as shown in the pictures above. The sliding metal squares are made of aluminum. The radio uses a UX-199 vacuum tube and an enclosed cristal as mentioned above.
The "KEY to the AIR CAGE ANTENNA" was granted a patent on August 21, 1923, with the number, 1,495,537. This patent was granted to Stephen F. Stafford, of Medford Hillside, Massachusetts. The patent title is "DOUBLE-HELIX CAGE ANTENNA." Claims made by Stephen Stafford in his application equal claims made at the time about the healing effects of electric shock treatments. Little was known about the physics of electromagnetic radio waves and their capture by antennas.
Condition:
The radio and antenna seem to be complete. This radio and its components have not been tested and I do not know whether they work or not.
History:
This radio was presumably manufactured in 1925 according to the website radiomuseum.com. Stafford Radio Co. also manufactured a similar radio with just one of the square metal tuning sliders called the "Junior Radio Receiver" for the price of $2.00, the same price as the price of the KEY to the AIR Cage Antenna. Radiomuseum.com mentiones the patent to the KEY to the AIR antenna but does not show a picture of the antenna itself; an indication that this antenna is very rare, maybe the only extant example!
Inventory Number 05593;
Price: Sold!