Monday, March 12, 2012

Mid-Century Modern RadioGraphix

Some of the finest examples of mid-20th century design and typography can be found on the transistor radios and stereos of the day. Typical was the airstream script lettering echoing the car culture typography of the 1950's and 60's. One exception to this was the Zenith crest with the familiar lightening bolt Z, as seen above. The faux chrome crest on this Zenith radio grill is more classical in style, but the iconic Z modernizes the logo considerably and suggests a space-age spirit. I think the Zenith logo stands with a foothold placed firmly in both halves of the 20th century. 
::From the Letterology Archives.
 
This most impressive "stereo" mark appeared on The Echo Stereo 1112A, a combination radio and record player from the early 1960's, made by Tesla in Czechoslovakia. This image is from an exhibit in the Technical Museum in Brno, Czech Republic. See the entire stereo cabinet hereThe image is from geonetix's flickrstream.

The neon signage of the "Elektro" shop in Vienna, Austria is another highly characterized mid-century modern script. It could easily have been an identity for a transistor radio or stereo of the day. See many more examples of awesome Viennese storefront signs with stunning typography here, all kindly provided from the flickrstream of phospho. 

The Studebaker transistor from seychelles88 flickrstream. This would be very stylin' along with the 1959 Studebaker Lark.

Digital print of a nice Motorola transistor radio for sale on Etsy from Kristin Korpos. I really heart the radio wave Motorola logo mark on the speaker grill. 


A retro red RCA Victor radio from masochismtango's flickrstream. 
Olympic Six transistor radio from Radio Archive's flickrstream.
Dang tubes! 1931 Wireless Made Easy. From alan98's flickrstream.

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