Very deco 1941 Majestic bakelite
 

There are some sets you just can't pass on when they cross your path. This a 1941 (I first mistakenly ID'd as a '39) Majestic 7T11 6-tube radio with tone control. The set was made at the peak of the streamline-modern craze and is a good example. It's a good player too!

That's sharp!

Thanks. It needed work, so I was able to get it for a decent price. I love the "chunky" look and feel of these pre-war deco bakelites.

Me like!!! :yes:

Three knobs / Tone control?

Yes. A high and low switch. These pre-war bakelites were superior to the post-war models. They're the only one's that get my attention.

I had one of these and I traded it for a RCA TM21D color monitor...working. Everyone was happy...still.

I'm surprised you have no regrets about trading an old art-deco radio for a modern monitor! :scratch2:

One of these monitors http://www.earlytelevision.org/rca_tm-21b.html I'd gladly trade that radio for. There is probably not another model of TV/monitor using a round screen color CRT so over engineered for performance as that.

There are millions of AA5s out there, many have very cool looking deco cabinets...One can go to 100 radio/TV swap meets and find 5000 deco AA5s, but not one TM-21...I appreciate looks the same as I do engineering, but categorical scarcity (and engineering interest) puts some things in other leagues.

It's purdy!

Ah! Okay. Knowledge is power. I had no idea it was something that rare. Very interesting piece. I'm a big TV history buff and can sure appreciate that piece.

Thanks MadMan for your comment.

A member on ARF confirmed that the design is the famous industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes first venture into bakelite radios. It was the original "3-ribbed" model, but we can attribute the later "4-ribbed" model, which is just a slight revision of it, to him.