Popular Entertainment

This Museum's popular entertainment collections hold some of the Smithsonian's most beloved artifacts. The ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz reside here, along with the Muppet character Kermit the Frog, and props from popular television series such as M*A*S*H and All in the Family. But as in many of the Museum's collections, the best-known objects are a small part of the story.

The collection also encompasses many other artifacts of 19th- and 20th-century commercial theater, film, radio, and TV—some 50,000 sound recordings dating back to 1903; posters, publicity stills, and programs from films and performances; puppets; numerous items from World's Fairs from 1851 to 1992; and audiovisual materials on Groucho Marx, to name only a few.

Radios, like this Eveready model 2, provided many families of the 1920s with a new form of home entertainment. Amateurs began making home radios to transmit and receive messages early in the 1900s. But using these radios called for engineering skills and a license.
Description
Radios, like this Eveready model 2, provided many families of the 1920s with a new form of home entertainment. Amateurs began making home radios to transmit and receive messages early in the 1900s. But using these radios called for engineering skills and a license. Early receivers, called "crystal detectors," while relatively easy to make, required some technical skill and were low in power.
In 1916, David Sarnoff proposed that American Marconi Company sell broadcast transmitting equipment and "radio music boxes" that could receive the broadcast signals. After World War I, Sarnoff and his idea became part of the new Radio Corporation of America (RCA). A 1920 prototype radio designed by Alfred Goldsmith featured a few simple controls and needed no technical training to operate. RCA and other companies established AM (Amplitude Modulation) stations and began selling receivers. Stereo broadcasts were unknown, so radios needed only one speaker.
Listeners were entranced by this new medium that delivered both local news and nationwide "network" programming. Since radios could operate on batteries, reception spread beyond cities. Unelectrified rural areas began tuning in, making farm life seem less isolated. Families began to gather around their radios in the evenings to hear music, sports, comedy, drama—and the commercials that paid for "free" programming. The voices of political leaders and entertainment celebrities reached millions of Americans.
Elaborately styled cabinets, usually of wood, disguised technical components and allowed the radio to blend more easily with other home furnishings. This Eveready model is unusual. The cabinet is metal instead of wood, and can accept optional legs that permit the radio to be converted to a floor-standing model. Radio quickly became popular with Americans, so much so that statistics indicate only two electrical items sold well throughout the Great Depression: light bulbs and radios.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1928
early developer of radio receivers
Goldsmith, Alfred
maker
National Carbon Company
ID Number
2002.0149.01
catalog number
2002.0149.01
accession number
2002.0149
America embraced a new technology in the wake of World War One: radio. The wide availability of affordable receivers allowed people across the country to access both local and national programming. Radio became so popular that even the Great Depression could hardly slow sales.
Description
America embraced a new technology in the wake of World War One: radio. The wide availability of affordable receivers allowed people across the country to access both local and national programming. Radio became so popular that even the Great Depression could hardly slow sales. Philco manufactured this model 16B “cathedral” style radio around 1933. The model 16B was an eleven-tube superheterodyne with two wave band receivers that could pick up broadcasts from as far away as Britain. The front of the case consists of a single speaker with four knobs—the station selector, tone control, wave band switcher, and the power and volume control.
date made
ca 1933
maker
Philco
ID Number
1986.0671.01
model number
16B
catalog number
1986.0671.01
accession number
1986.0671
This radio dates from the late 1930s. By this time radio had become the dominant form of home entertainment in the United States. Americans were glued to their sets to hear their favorite programs, be captivated by sports events, and stay updated with the latest news.
Description (Brief)
This radio dates from the late 1930s. By this time radio had become the dominant form of home entertainment in the United States. Americans were glued to their sets to hear their favorite programs, be captivated by sports events, and stay updated with the latest news. Throughout the decade, President Franklin Roosevelt used this popular medium to reach out to Americans with his “Fireside Chats.” On September 3, 1939, he gave his famous talk on the outbreak of the European war.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1938
ca 1940
maker
Emerson Radio and Television Corporation
Emerson Radio Corporation
ID Number
EM.333803
catalog number
333803
accession number
302703
During World War Two scientists and engineers at Bell Laboratories conducted research on many radar and radio devices. One goal was to find a replacement for fragile and energy-wasting vacuum tubes.
Description
During World War Two scientists and engineers at Bell Laboratories conducted research on many radar and radio devices. One goal was to find a replacement for fragile and energy-wasting vacuum tubes. Building on war-time research, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, working with group leader William Shockley, developed a device they called a transistor. The first laboratory demonstration took place on 23 December 1947. Bell publicly announced the new invention on 30 June 1948.
At first the US military bought all the transistors Bell Labs could make, and the company agreed to license other manufacturers. As engineers learned how to use the new invention, plans were made for commercial products that could take advantage of the transistor's small size, energy efficiency, and rugged design. In 1953 hearing aids became the first commercial product to use transistors.
A small, portable radio seemed a good opportunity, and a company called Idea Incorporated designed and produced the Regency. Planning began in 1951 between Idea and Texas Instruments, supplier of the transistors. Work began in earnest in the spring of 1954, and this first Regency transistor radio was in stores for the Christmas season later that year. The Regency model TR-1 contained four transistors. Capable of receiving AM stations, the radio cost about $50 (that would be almost $400 today.)
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1954
maker
Idea Incorporated
ID Number
1984.0040.01
accession number
1984.0040
catalog number
1984.0040.01
model number
TR-1
A non-working prop replica of a 1930s table top radio was a central feature of the setting for the TV series The Waltons.
Description (Brief)
A non-working prop replica of a 1930s table top radio was a central feature of the setting for the TV series The Waltons. Designed in classic Art Deco style, the radio functioned as an “electronic hearth” around which the Walton family gathered to learn news of the world outside of its bucolic surroundings. The series was broadcast on the CBS television network from 1970 through 1979. The show centered on a close-knit family in rural Virginia, which was patterned on the family of Earl Hamner, Jr., the series author.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1940
manufacturer
Zenith
maker
Zenith
ID Number
1982.0119.01
accession number
1982.0119
catalog number
1982.0119.01

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