Zenith Walton Wanted

9/18/2014 12:34:47 PMZenith Walton

9/18/2014 7:18:18 PMThomas

:On the Walton's show was to be 1930 depression era. That "Zenith" radio didn;t go on sale till the mid 30s the writers got it wrong.
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:Christmas Countdown

9/18/2014 8:29:21 PMCV

Well, that's true enough. "The Waltons" was initially set in the year 1933, and one of the series opening title shots showed the family unloading a 1938 Zenith shutter dial table model from a truck. As a result, this set has popularly been known as "The Waltons' Set" for the past 40 years among the collecting community. Prior to that it probably was just known as a "Zenith Table Model Shutter Dial" set, or by its model number.

These show up on eBay frequently, usually for thousands of dollars. I think, but am not certain, that there are several Zenith table models that could credibly be called "Waltons' Sets", and they have various numbers of tubes, from seven to twelve. All models share the unusual Deco brass 3-cornered bezel framing a round convex dial glass. The 12-tube chassis seems to be what most collectors consider to be the "definitive" Waltons set but (as a fan of the original series) I don't recall ever getting a close glimpse of the chassis or dial that would support this. Maybe the radio cabinet seen in the series is one that was exclusively paired with the 12-tube chassis and the association was made on that basis.

AFAIK the 12-tube chassis was never offered in a battery power supply version, so that's another conundrum- it seems highly unlikely that a relatively cash-strapped, rural, mountain-dwelling family would have had access to AC power... REA was decades in the future and most rural families of the 30s and 40s were stuck with radios that worked off car/tractor batteries or specialized wet cells that were charged by small rooftop-mounted windmill dynamos.

9/19/2014 7:19:58 AMJohn

So is the hype about these radios the performance or exposure from the television show? One has to wonder if another set such as a common Philco was featured, that would have driven the prices up on it. I don't own a single Zenith and not prepared to unless an inexpensive one is listed on Craigslist or site like that.

:Well, that's true enough. "The Waltons" was initially set in the year 1933, and one of the series opening title shots showed the family unloading a 1938 Zenith shutter dial table model from a truck. As a result, this set has popularly been known as "The Waltons' Set" for the past 40 years among the collecting community. Prior to that it probably was just known as a "Zenith Table Model Shutter Dial" set, or by its model number.
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:These show up on eBay frequently, usually for thousands of dollars. I think, but am not certain, that there are several Zenith table models that could credibly be called "Waltons' Sets", and they have various numbers of tubes, from seven to twelve. All models share the unusual Deco brass 3-cornered bezel framing a round convex dial glass. The 12-tube chassis seems to be what most collectors consider to be the "definitive" Waltons set but (as a fan of the original series) I don't recall ever getting a close glimpse of the chassis or dial that would support this. Maybe the radio cabinet seen in the series is one that was exclusively paired with the 12-tube chassis and the association was made on that basis.
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:AFAIK the 12-tube chassis was never offered in a battery power supply version, so that's another conundrum- it seems highly unlikely that a relatively cash-strapped, rural, mountain-dwelling family would have had access to AC power... REA was decades in the future and most rural families of the 30s and 40s were stuck with radios that worked off car/tractor batteries or specialized wet cells that were charged by small rooftop-mounted windmill dynamos.
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9/19/2014 11:04:01 AMCV

I don't think that the hype is based on any intrinsic technical qualities of the radios. I own two 12-S-265 sets which I have restored (one in 1977, the other just two years ago). The 12-tube chassis used in this model is the same as that used in the "Waltons" tabletop model. These radios are sensitive, have motor-assisted tuning, and have decent sound quality, but in my opinion they are not in the same audio class as contemporary "high end" sets, or even the better Philco console offerings, which had by then had made serious attempts to offer "high fidelity" audio amp stages (within the constraints of AM broadcasting, of course). The Zenith sets had, for the era, high styling, interesting operating features/gimmicks, and were aggressively advertised... so they sold well. But at the end of the day they were Chevy Impalas to Philco's Ford Galaxies, neither the cheapest or the best product that could be bought at the time.