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G & F "Searchlight" Novelty Radio (1937/1938)
Over the years, the origins of this rare and unusual radio have been
obscured by the mists of time, so following my acquisition of one at
the Kutztown radio show in the fall of 2008, I endeavored to place
the "searchlight", as it has become known, under a "spotlight" and
see just how many of its secrets could be unveiled.
Upon getting the set home, prompted by a "patent applied for"
sticker I'd seen attached to the rear cover of some examples of the
set, I used Google patents to see if I could locate a patent for it.
Luckily, I soon found design patent 109,040, issued to Irwin Feitler
in March of 1938. Subsequent research has revealed that Feitler
(1903~1990) was a Chicago entrepreneur, who in 1928 joined
Gardner and Company of Chicago, then a manufacturer of punch-
boards and push-cards. By the early 1940s Feitler had risen to be-
come sole proprietor of the firm. They remained in business until the
early 1960s, by which time they had diversified into the manufacture
of children's toys and board games.
During the mid-to-late 1930s, Feitler partnered with Granger, one of
the original group of four who founded Gardner & Co. back in 1908,
to form a novelties company known as G & F Sales, co-located with
Gardner & Co. on S. Archer Avenue in Chicago. G & F Sales Co.,
named after its founders Granger and Feitler, specialized in the
marketing of punch-board and push-card premiums, one of which
was Feitler's searchlight radio, as featured on this page. Another
radio offered by the firm, a short period after the searchlight, was
Majestic's highly collectible Charlie McCarthy novelty set.
You can read more on this whole topic in my June 2009 Antique
Radio Classified article, the web version of which is available here.
The radio was almost certainly manufactured for G & F by Pacific
Radio Corporation, then located at 844 W. Adams St, Chicago, just
a few minutes drive from G & F on S. Archer Avenue. The schematic
corresponds to Pacific model 3 and can be found here.
obscured by the mists of time, so following my acquisition of one at
the Kutztown radio show in the fall of 2008, I endeavored to place
the "searchlight", as it has become known, under a "spotlight" and
see just how many of its secrets could be unveiled.
Upon getting the set home, prompted by a "patent applied for"
sticker I'd seen attached to the rear cover of some examples of the
set, I used Google patents to see if I could locate a patent for it.
Luckily, I soon found design patent 109,040, issued to Irwin Feitler
in March of 1938. Subsequent research has revealed that Feitler
(1903~1990) was a Chicago entrepreneur, who in 1928 joined
Gardner and Company of Chicago, then a manufacturer of punch-
boards and push-cards. By the early 1940s Feitler had risen to be-
come sole proprietor of the firm. They remained in business until the
early 1960s, by which time they had diversified into the manufacture
of children's toys and board games.
During the mid-to-late 1930s, Feitler partnered with Granger, one of
the original group of four who founded Gardner & Co. back in 1908,
to form a novelties company known as G & F Sales, co-located with
Gardner & Co. on S. Archer Avenue in Chicago. G & F Sales Co.,
named after its founders Granger and Feitler, specialized in the
marketing of punch-board and push-card premiums, one of which
was Feitler's searchlight radio, as featured on this page. Another
radio offered by the firm, a short period after the searchlight, was
Majestic's highly collectible Charlie McCarthy novelty set.
You can read more on this whole topic in my June 2009 Antique
Radio Classified article, the web version of which is available here.
The radio was almost certainly manufactured for G & F by Pacific
Radio Corporation, then located at 844 W. Adams St, Chicago, just
a few minutes drive from G & F on S. Archer Avenue. The schematic
corresponds to Pacific model 3 and can be found here.
| G & F Novelty Searchlight radio, distributed by: G & F Sales Company, 2309 S. Archer Ave, Chicago., subsidiary to Gardner & Co, a manufacturer of punchboards and pushcards & later a national toy company. • Design Patent for cabinet: #109,040 (Irwin Feitler, G & F partner), March 29, 1938. • Model Year: 1937/38. • Chassis (& cabinet?) Manufacturer: Pacific Radio Corp, 844 W. Adams St, Chicago. • Chassis type: AC/DC superheterodyne (schematic: same as Pacific Radio Corp. Model 3, Rider 9-1). • Tubes, 7: 6A7 (mixer/LO), 6D6 (IF), 75 (2nd det/1st AF), 25L6 (AF), 25Z5 (rectifier), L49C (ballast tube),6U5/6G5 (tuning eye). • Bands, 3: standard broadcast (550~1600kc), police (1.8~5mc), shortwave (6~16mc). |
The chassis view to the right (click to expand) shows that the serial
number commences with 25-, which according to hearsay is an
acknowledged hallmark of models manufactured by the Pacific Radio
Corp. of Chicago (other than this serial number, the chassis tag pro-
vides no clues as to the origins of the set). The same chassis, with
minor variations, appears to have been used for a number of models
sold under various brand names, including American and Hetro as
well as Pacific and, as it now seems, G & F. None of this is suprising,
as Pacific is known to have been a supplier of radios to third parties
for sale under their own labels.
number commences with 25-, which according to hearsay is an
acknowledged hallmark of models manufactured by the Pacific Radio
Corp. of Chicago (other than this serial number, the chassis tag pro-
vides no clues as to the origins of the set). The same chassis, with
minor variations, appears to have been used for a number of models
sold under various brand names, including American and Hetro as
well as Pacific and, as it now seems, G & F. None of this is suprising,
as Pacific is known to have been a supplier of radios to third parties
for sale under their own labels.
| Technical Specifications |
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