page_title: Detrola Radio & Television Corporation
hierarchical_section_title: Detrola Radio & Television Corporation
caption_attribution_description: English: Detrola Model 579 (1946) radio. Designed by Alexander Girard and manufactured by Detrola Corporation in Detroit, Michigan. Plywood. On display at SFO Museum "On The Radio" exhibition in 2018.
context_page_description: The Detrola Radio & Television Corporation was an American manufacturer of radios. Founded in Detroit in 1931 by John J. Ross, Detrola became a brand of affordable radios in the midst of the Great Depression. They may well have been the world's most prolific manufacturer of private brand radios for department stores and small retailers, likely building sets under more than 100 different brand names. The company also manufactured large quantities of radios under the Truetone name for Western Auto and Silvertone brand for Sears. Popular models were the "Super Pee Wee" and "Catalin 281" known for being cheap economy sets. At the company's height in 1936, Detrola claimed to be "The sixth largest radio manufacturer in the United States" and had about 1,000 employees, and sales representatives in many cities and foreign countries.
  In 1941, Detrola became a supplier of war supplies, most notably land mine detectors, aircraft radios, and electrical panels for ships. Ross sold out his interests in the company to the International Machine Tool Company, which was a conglomerate led by C. Russell Feldmann.
context_section_description: The Detrola Radio & Television Corporation was an American manufacturer of radios.   Founded in Detroit in 1931 by John J. Ross, Detrola became a brand of affordable radios in the midst of the Great Depression.  They may well have been the world's most prolific manufacturer of private brand radios for department stores and small retailers, likely building sets under more than 100 different brand names. The company also manufactured large quantities of radios under the Truetone name for Western Auto and Silvertone brand for Sears.   Popular models were the "Super Pee Wee" and "Catalin 281" known for being cheap economy sets. At the company's height in 1936, Detrola claimed to be "The sixth largest radio manufacturer in the United States" and had about 1,000 employees, and sales representatives in many cities and foreign countries. 
  In 1941, Detrola became a supplier of war supplies, most notably land mine detectors, aircraft radios, and electrical panels for ships. Ross sold out his interests in the company to the International Machine Tool Company, which was a conglomerate led by C. Russell Feldmann. After World War II, Detrola resumed civilian production but decided not to branch off into the television set market.  However, production costs became high and there were serious union issues. The company struggled to keep up with larger manufacturers.  The company sold off its thriving auto radio manufacturing business to Motorola in the summer of 1948, then stopped all manufacturing later in 1948.
  As of 2016, Crosley Radio has revived the Detrola namesake for a reproduction radio.
caption: Detrola Model 579 (1946) radio, made of plywood
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 6s", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "12.0.1", "Image DateTime": "2018:10:12 23:52:13", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "194", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1794", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6246", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/20", "EXIF FNumber": "11/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:10:12 23:52:13", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:10:12 23:52:13", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "41876/9689", "EXIF ApertureValue": "193685/85136", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "25565/36731", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "83/20", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[2012, 1510, 2211, 1330]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "039", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "039", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4032", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3024", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1512/683", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "64", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[83/20, 83/20, 11/5, 11/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 6s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2"}