Zenith Model 8S463 Radio

Introduced in the fall of 1939 as part of the 1940 model line-up, the Zenith Model 8-S-463 8S463 Console Radio made by the Zenith Radio Company, retail for about $69.95 or $1,617.73 today. The three and half feet tall 60 lbs. radio boosted a three-band (AM Standard Broadcast, Shortwave, and Medium Wave) radio with its eight tubes and a 10-inch speaker. Made in the popular art deco style of the time, the large black dial displays many station frequencies, the broadcast scale and numerous foreign countries. The dial is illuminated by two dial lamps creating a warm orange glow. This model comes with Zenith’s famous ‘Wave Magnet’ antenna which brings in distant stations even when the radio is placed on an inside wall, for the best results one must use the radio at night using a long wire. It also had push buttons that allowed users to preset and quickly select favorite radio stations

The Zenith Radio Company was originally founded as Chicago Radio Labs in 1918 by Ralph Matthews and Karl Hassel as a small producer of amateur radio equipment. The name "Zenith" came from ZN'th, a contraction of its founders' ham radio call sign, 9ZN. They were joined in 1921 by Eugene F. McDonald, and Zenith Radio Company was incorporated in 1923. The company soon became known for its high-quality radios and electronic innovations. Some of their highlights included the first portable radio in 1924, the first mass-produced AC radio in 1926, push-button tuning in 1927,and automobile radios in the 1930. Their first Zenith television set appeared in 1939, as well as they established one of the first FM stations in the country in 1940 (Chicago's WWZR, later called WEFM, now WUSN, named for Zenith executive Eugene F. McDonald).

By 1960 Zenith was among the two largest US television manufacturers that employed 11,000 employees in seven plants. By the 1970s and 1980s the company went through numerous anti-trust lawsuits. The company changed its name to Zenith Electronics Corporation in 1984 to reflect its interests in the computer market and CATV. However in the late 1980s they started losing customers and by 1990 Zenith sold a five-percent stake to the Korean company GoldStar (now LG Electronics) which they gained a controlling interest by 1995. In 1999 the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with LG buying the remaining share of the company. Today, the company is a subsidiary of LG under the name of Zenith Electronics, LLC.