Clocks & Music
1938 Stewart-Warner R-180-A Art Deco Tube Radio Restored with Bluetooth
1938 Stewart-Warner R-180-A Art Deco Tube Radio Restored with Bluetooth
This 1938 Stewart-Warner Model R-180-A is a mantle-scale tabletop radio with a bold, sculptural presence, its cabinet built by the Stewart-Warner Craft Built Cabinet Company in rich figured walnut veneer arranged in a striking diamond-book-matched pattern across the top and face. At its center sits a large gold-toned oval dial in a stepped brass surround, marked "BROADCAST" and "FOREIGN" over kilocycle and megacycle scales, one of the more distinctive dial designs of the late Art Deco radio era.
The R-180-A is a five-tube AC transformer-type set covering the standard broadcast band (525 to 1750 kHz) and a single shortwave band (2200 to 17000 kHz), driven through an original 5 1/4 inch side-mounted speaker for a fuller, more resonant tone than many radios of its size. Four Bakelite knobs are set into the lower face for tuning, volume, tone, and band selection.
Stewart-Warner built its reputation first in automotive instruments before expanding into radio manufacturing in the 1920s, and by the late 1930s was producing sets known for combining strong Art Deco styling with genuinely good performance. The R-180-A's dial, with its layered brass surround and gold engraved face, remains one of the more visually striking examples of the format, closer in spirit to an instrument panel than a typical radio dial.
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 Stewart-Warner set, housed in one of the more sculptural and richly veneered cabinets of the late Art Deco period.
