Continental Corporation
179 West Washington St., Chicago, IL (1927)
1800 Winnemac Ave., Chicago 40, IL (1947)

Tube brand: Continental. See also the brand entries for:

• National Tube Manufacturing Co.
• Concert Master Mfg. Co.

Continental is mentioned in Tyne's "Saga of the Vacuum Tube", page 353: "Continental tubes (1928) made by Continental Corporation, 179 West Washington Street, Chicago. This concern also marketed Concert Master tubes."

There is an advertisement for Continental tubes in the Allied Catalog of 1929 on p.54, announcing types 210A, X199, 200A, 171, 112, and 280.

Purvis D Jackson of Chicago was involved in the tube industry as a tube broker as early as 1922. By 1924 he was doing business through several unincorporated trade names, none of which were registered. He obtained quantities of unbranded tubes from any source he could get them cheaply, such as when a factory closed down, where he bought stock at very low prices. All tubes bought by him were graded according to his own system: Grade "A" for good quality tubes, grade "B" for lesser quality tubes and apparently even grades "C" and "D". 

He operated the Continental Sales Corporation (address unknown) and sold tubes with the name Continental on the box. From October 1924 to March 1925 he sold grade "B" tubes to the National Radio and Electric Company of Hammond, Indiana. In November 1925 paper labels were introduced for the tubes available and these were either labeled Continental or National.

In January 1926, Jackson began to do business under the name National Tube Manufacturing Company. A few months later the Continental Sales Corporation went out of business. This company had never made any tubes, but sold mainly grade "B" 201A types. These tubes were sold for a period of four months and boxes carried such messages as "National - The Quality Tube", "National Model N201A" and "National Tube Mfg Co Chicago Ill".

On February 15th 1926, the Continental Corporation was incorporated, with Purvis D Jackson the only stockholder. The Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, January 18, 1927, p. 316 has "Jackson, P.D., doing business as Concert Master Mfg. Company and Continental Corporation; Chicago Ill. and Newark N.J. Radio vacuum tubes. 238.377" registered.

Sales of Grade "B" tubes continued until 1929 and in April of that year Purvis sold all the stock to the Marvin Radio Tube Company, a Delaware company based in Irvington New Jersey. When the Marvin company failed around April 1931, Purvis bought back his interests and began selling National tubes again.  

An advertising circular announcing the resuming of operations was made available and one fell into the hands of the National Union Radio Corporation who began proceedings against the National Tube Manufacturing Company on 21st July 1931, for breach of trade mark. The court case was lengthy and there were appeals on both sides. The appeal held at the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in December 21st, 1933 found in favour of the National Union Radio Corp and they were awarded damages of US$ 450,000 plus costs. Also Jackson and the National Tube Mfg Co were prohibited from using the name National on grade "B" tubes unless so marked on the tubes and boxes. Further, National tubes were to be sold in boxes which could not be mistaken for National Union boxes. These tubes were marked "National Products Company" and there was also a Continental box. These latter tubes had paper labels on the glass stating Continental Chicago. As well, the judge found that National Union had a perfectly legitimate trade mark, whereas Continental Corporation did not. All cross complaints by Continental Corporation were dismissed.

Main reference: Circuit Court of Appeal transcript: Continental Corporation vs National Union Radio Corporation. December 21,1933

In the Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office of 1947, Jackson, Concert Master and Continental are still mentioned: "Jackson, P.D., doing business as Concert Master Mfg. Company and Continental Corporation; Chicago Ill. and Newark N.J., to Continental Corporation, Chicago, Ill. Radio vacuum tubes. 226.115; renewed Mar. 29, 1947. O.G. Aug. 19."