Clocks & Music
1936 Sparton 57K Walnut Tube Radio with "Band-O-Color" Dial, Restored with Bluetooth
1936 Sparton 57K Walnut Tube Radio with "Band-O-Color" Dial, Restored with Bluetooth
This 1936 Sparton Model 57K is a substantial tabletop set in heavy, solid walnut, its cabinet built with deep horizontal fluting on either side of a large round central dial. The dial itself carries Sparton's "Band-O-Color" scale, with concentric red, green, and blue rings distinguishing broadcast, longwave, and shortwave frequencies, tuned by a single large wooden knob mounted directly at the dial's center, with two smaller matching knobs set below.
The 57K is a six-tube AM, longwave, and shortwave superheterodyne set, its dial's colored banding, Sparton's "Band-O-Color" system, offering a genuinely useful visual aid for a listener moving between three very different frequency ranges on a single scale. The cabinet's deep, evenly spaced fluting on either side of the dial gives the radio a strong architectural rhythm, a heavier and more substantial presence than many tabletop sets of the same period.
Sparton built a reputation through the mid-1930s for bold, design-forward radios, and the 57K's oversized central dial and richly grained solid walnut case reflect that same instinct toward radios as genuine design objects rather than purely functional appliances. Its heavy, dense cabinet construction has helped many surviving examples hold up remarkably well over the decades.
This example has been restored and equipped with Bluetooth through a 1/8 inch adapter, allowing a smartphone, tablet, computer, or record player to connect and play through the radio's original tube driven sound. The result pairs modern convenience with the warm tone of a vintage Sparton set, housed in one of the more substantial and architecturally striking tabletop cabinets of the mid-1930s.
