This past summer, Hagley added a unique piece of history to its Audiovisual Collections. We acquired an album of photographs from the 1934 National Electrical and Radio Exposition that took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The expo was one of a series of annual events held in New York during the first half of the 20th century at which consumer electronics businesses introduced and marketed their latest products. Radios, household appliances, indoor lighting, and heating/air conditioning were among the prominent goods displayed at these expos during this period. The events brought together manufacturers, distributors, and customers and included elaborate displays and demonstrations of new products.
The album includes forty-five photographs taken at the 1934 Expo sponsored by the Electrical Association of New York. The photographs document the displays installed by major manufacturers like Atwater Kent, General Electric, Westinghouse, and many others. The album includes wide shots of the main expo floor where patrons are seen milling around the exhibits and, in one image, listening to a pitch from a man in the RCA exhibit (see below). Also visible in a few of the photographs is an orchestra that, according to the New York Times, was part of the entertainment on Broadcasting Day.
The photographs document a boom era for consumer products reliant on electricity. It is a unique and valuable addition to Hagley’s collections. A few selections from the album have been scanned and are below. An inventory of the images is available online in our finding aids database.
If you would like to see the photographs in person, please stop by the library in Wilmington. We will be happy to show you!
Crowd listens to a pitchman at the RCA Victor Magic Brain display
Display for Philadelphia radio manufacturer Atwater Kent
Kevin Martin is the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Audiovisual and Digital Collections at Hagley.