Original Philco Radio Bar Restored and Complete

This spectacular Art Deco Philco Radio Bar is one of the most highly sought after pieces by radio and bar enthusiasts alike. Created originally during the Prohibition Era – a time of fascination with hidden and secret liquor bars, it reached a high point with its 1936 design.  All the accouterment  (glassware in many sizes, decanters, cocktail shaker and accessories) fill this piece we are very  proud to offer.  We have a copy of the original brochure which says it best:

“RadioBar provides the nucleus for formal and informal entertaining…hosts proclaim it , guests thrill to it…for the RadioBar with Philco is all things in one!  The 1936 models, all exclusively equipped with Philco radio receivers … are ideal for the living room, the den, the library, the “rumpus” room. Radiobar provides the host or hostess with a convenient and superbly appointed means of entertaining!  The Radiobar is not a “cellarette” to hide, but a magnificent piece of exquisitely designed furniture!”

 A Radio Bar was the equivalent of a high end entertainment center today. Thoroughly popular and not the least bit inexpensive!  To put it in perspective… a Philco Radio Bar  was priced at $89 – $795, and an average salary was $1748 in 1936. An average home was $3600 and a Studebaker car was $665. So this was really the height of  fashion and indulgence.

In addition to the high style design, and the uniquely amusing combination of a radio and a bar, the Radiobar is featured in so many movies of the period as a kind of iconic symbol of luxury. You’ ll find it in the Bogart/ Cagney film “Angels with Dirty Faces” and taking center stage in” Gold Diggers of 1933″ when Joan Blondell and Warren Williams meet in her stylish Art Deco Flat. Catch another glimpse of it in the  1935 Alfred Hitchcock  thriller “39 Steps” with Robert Donat.

We are especially excited about this model now that we have had the woodwork refinished, the array of glasses put into place,  and  a chance to listen to the deep tone of the  radio (yes!  it still works!).

Details:
Walnut Finish Cabinet • • Interior Light • All fittings, bottle holders and glass racks are of heavy chromium plate. 32 cocktail glasses, two sizes in clear glass and three sizes in the signature  style with alternating bands of black and silver. Original glass cocktail shaker , four etched decanters,  replica brochures,  vintage cocktail napkins, and a working radio!