Figure 1.--Here we see a little American boy playing in the family livingroom. Notice the huge floor model radio in the background.The photograph is undate, but we would guess it was taken about 1930. The photograph is a RPPC real photo postcard, with no stampbox.

Commercial radio began after World War I in the 1920s. Soon an endless flow of free entertainment flowed into homes in Europe and the Uninted States. Nothing like it was ever availble in homes. It affected domestic life. In many homes the radio was out in the living room and became the center of home life after dinner in the evening. Radios varied in size. Some were relatively small table top sets, but they had to be big enough to accomodate vacuume tunes. Others were huge pieces of crafted furniture. Many home photographs from the 1920s-40s show the family gathered around the radio listening to a favorite program. Many Americans during this period also remember listening to President Roosevelt's Fire Side Chats during the Depression, carefully schedulled so the family could listen after dinner. It was also around these sets that most Americans learned of Pearl Harbor.

Created: 2:33 AM 6/16/2004
Last updated: 2:33 AM 6/16/2004