Philco

Philco, the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company (formerly known as the Spencer Company and later the Helios Electric Company), was a pioneer in early battery, radio and television production as well as former employer of Philo Farnsworth, inventor of cathode ray tube television.

Philco's rise to the top of radio makers was an amazing feat. While other makers like Atwater-Kent, Zenith, RCA and many now forgotten others (Freshman Masterpiece, Fada, Grebe, etc) sold many battery-powered radios in the early 1920's, Philco only made batteries, "socket power" units and battery chargers. With the invention of the rectifier tube which allowed radios to be operated from the wall socket, Philco knew their business was doomed, and decided in 1926 to get into the booming radio business. By 1930 they would sell more radios than any other maker and hold that first place position for over 20 years. Basically, by sitting out the early 1920's development years of radio Philco jumped into the game right when it was taking off, and zoomed ahead of its competitors.

Philco built many iconic radios and TV sets, including the classic cathedral-shaped wooden radio of the 1930s (aka the "Baby Grand"), and the very futuristic (in a 1950s sort of way) Predicta series of television receivers.

From its inception in 1892 until 1904, the company that eventually became known as Philco manufactured carbon-arc lamps. As this line of business slowly foundered over the last decade of the 19th century, the firm experienced increasingly difficult times.

By 1954, Philco had led the radio industry in volume sales for 24 straight years, selling over 30 million radios.