Turn Your Radio On

Today we have a small sample of publicity from the pioneering days of radio when the humble valve was an object of veneration for its mysterious ability to bring broadcast sound into every home in the land. The Ediswan valve stands proud in all its glory, buffed up and glamorised to mark its exalted status. Osram and Mullard have both gone for high-end cultural associations despite the contrasting dress codes – from loin cloth to evening dress. Ormond and Brown invoke traditions of craftsmanship and the simple pleasures of the fireside in their appeal to the consumer. British early adopters of the 1920s took to the radio with enthusiasm – as an essentially passive and often solitary activity it was a good fit with our long traditions of inward looking, defensive domesticity.