Philco 38-7CS Chairside Radio

The first two digits of the model number of this radio indicate that it was manufactured in 1938.  Philco first started assigning model numbers by year prefixes in 1937. The first Philco chairside radio was the model 370 Lazyboy designed by Norman Bel Geddes. A chairside radio was designed to be placed next to a chair or couch. It has the controls and dial on the top of the radio so you can easily tune in stations from your chair. There is also an area on the cabinet to store books and magazines.

Like most radios of this type, the finish on our radio is fair in most spots, but, it is all gone on the top. People were prone to place drinks and food on top of radios. Look closely at the photos and you can see rings where wet glasses were placed. As a result, the lacquer finish easily wore off. Chairsides were especially prone to such damage. A radio like this is much easier to tune than a tall console radio which usually required that the user bend down just to see the dial. 1938 was the perfect year to introduce this radio because the new Philco pitch was for its “No Squat, No Stoop, No Squint” radios. 1938 featured many Philcos that had slanted tops that made it easy to see the radio dial and controls. This 38-7CS was ahead of its time and easily fit in with the new slogan.

Our radio, which was donated by Mr. Pedro Viejo-Rodriguez, has already undergone a full electronic

restoration. As such, it works very well! The radio covers two bands: AM Broadcast (530-1720 KHz)

and a popular shortwave band (international radio programs), 5.7-18 MHz. The radio uses the

superheterodyne system of reception, the same system used to this day in modern AM radios.

We plan to finish the cabinet so that you may see the full beauty of this functional blend of furniture with technology.