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History of the manufacturer  

General Television and Radio Corp.; Chicago, IL

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Name: General Television and Radio Corp.; Chicago, IL    (USA)  
Brand:
General
Abbreviation: genera-tv
Products: Model types
Summary:

General Television and Radio Corp.
267 West 17th St., New York (City), NY (1934) [1]
257 West 17th St., New York (City), NY (1939) [2]
511 South Sangamon St., Chicago, IL (1940 March) [3]
1240-58 North Homan Ave., Chicago, IL (1940 July) [4]
2701-17 Lehmann Ct., Chicago, IL (1945) [5]

Trade names: American, (The) General,  Greeley (NYC era); and General, general/TELEVISION, Syncrotenna (Chicago  era). 

Manufacturer and sales of radios, phonograph radios, antennas.

Initially listed in NYC in the early 1930’s and next shows up in Chicago in 1939/1940 after it assumed (or acquired) Climax Radio & Television Co., Inc.

Purchased in 1945 by Portable Products Corp., Pittsburgh, PA, although they continued to use the General Television and Radio name for a few more years.

History:

The Radio Collector's Guide 1921-1932, 1974 McMahon's Revised Edition, shows a:

General Television & Radio Corp. "GENERAL" (1932) KINGSTON, PA, 11-tube model. [6]

It’s possible they started in Pennsylvania and moved to NYC after a year or two but there is no documentation to support that, so the PA address may have been an error.  There is a chance that occurred however, since they were later acquired in 1945 by a company in Pittsburgh; so perhaps there was an earlier connection to Pennsylvania.

The exact date of when General Television and Radio Corp. was founded is unknown but was referenced in 1934. [1]  It operated in NYC on 17th St. at the same address as the earlier Argus Radio Corp.  It is unknown whether they acquired Argus, or if Argus had gone bankrupt earlier in The Great Depression and it’s a coincident that the address was the same.

General Television and Radio Corp., later in 1939/1940, shows up in Chicago when it assumed (or acquired) Climax Radio & Television Co., Inc.  See Climax for details.

It is assumed that this is the same corporation as the NYC firm, and simply moved to Chicago, since the NYC firm no longer shows up in publications after 1940.

During this Chicago transition period, models may be labeled as Climax, Cunningham, General, or general/TELEVISION.  Models labeled Climax or Cunningham should be models of Climax Radio & Television Co., Inc.  Models labeled General, or general/TELEVISION should be models of General Television and Radio Corp.

As of 1944 (and perhaps earlier), Herman R. Rose was the president of the company. [7]

All of the capital stock of the company was sold to Portable Products Corp., Pittsburgh, PA in late 1945, and Mr. Rose stayed on with new company in an executive capacity.  They continued to use the General Television and Radio name for a few more years. [8]

 

The following reference clips are uploaded:
[1]  Radio Retailing, Sept. 1934, page 31.
[2]  Radio Today, March 1939, page 45.
[3]  Radio Today, March 1940, page 60.
[4]  Radio Retailing, July. 1940, page 50.
[5]  Radio News, Aug. 1945, page 132.
[6]  Radio Collector’s Guide 1921-1932, 1974, McMahon’s Revised Edition, page 217.
[7]  Radio Retailing, Dec. 1944, page 98.
[8]  The Commercial and Financial Chronicle, Dec. 10, 1945, Vol. 162, No. 4445, page 2823.


Some models:
Country Year Name 1st Tube Notes
USA  32 11 tubes    
USA  46 14A4F 1LA6  See also Rider's Perpetual, Volume 19. 
USA  46 15A5 12SA7   
USA  46 17A5 12SA7  See also Rider's Perpetual, Volume 19 
USA  46 19 [s-e-tubes] 12SA7G  Built-in loop antenna. 
USA  46 19 [d-e-tubes] 12A8GT  Built-in loop antenna. 
USA  46 19A5 12SA7   
USA  49 20A3A 12SQ7   
USA  49 20A3P 12SQ7   
USA  46/47 21A4 1LA6  The General Television model 21A4 is an Battery Operated Portable Superheterodyne Receiver... 
USA  46/47 22A5C 14Q7  The General Television model 22A5C is an AC Operated Combination Radio-Phono with Self Con... 
USA  46/47 23A6 1LA6  2 St. Selenium Rect AC-DC 117V Battery 90V - 7,5V The General Television model 23A6 is a... 

[rmxhdet-en]

Further details for this manufacturer by the members (rmfiorg):

Radio Retailing, Sept. 1934, page 31.tbn_usa_general_tv_radio_1934_nyc_addr1.jpg
Radio Today, March 1939, page 45.tbn_usa_general_tv_radio_1939_nyc_addr2.jpg
Radio Today, March 1940, page 60.tbn_usa_general_tv_radio_1940_march_chicago_addr3.jpg
Radio Retailing, July 1940, page 50.tbn_usa_general_tv_radio_1940_july_chicago_addr4.jpg
Radio News, Aug. 1945, page 132.tbn_usa_general_tv_radio_1945_chicago_addr5.jpg
Radio Collector’s Guide 1921-1932, 1974, McMahon’s Revised Edition, page 217.tbn_usa_general_tv_radio_1932_kingston_pa.jpg
Radio Retailing, Dec. 1944, page 98.tbn_usa_general_tv_radio_1944_rose.jpg
The Commercial and Financial Chronicle, Dec. 10, 1945, Vol. 162, No. 4445, page 2823.tbn_usa_general_tv_radio_1945_acquired.jpg
1947 logos.tbn_usa_general_tv_radio_1947_logos.jpg

  

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