Were FDR's Fireside Chats Heard on my Radio?

This is a Thorola Model 57 desk radio, dating to 1926. After spending decades in an attic, the wooden case was quite worse-for-the-wear, so I've refinished it. The painted front panel was pretty much intact though, and the interior is quite good. I was able to replicate the correct finish luster by the interior wood that had been protected from dirt and dust. There is also a separate, round wooden speaker, about 18 inches tall. I'd love to know what radio programs were heard on this set, who listened to it, what their discussions were at the time, what was being knitted or otherwise created at the same time. Imagine the history that was broadcast through these "doughnut" coils and vacuum tubes and wiring. FDR's Fireside Chats most definitely. Did my family hear about the stock market crash of 1929 on this? Did they hear "Happy Days Are Here Again" through its speaker?

Happy Days are Here Again, from 1930. This was once a victory song for the Democrats. I'm sure it was heard over and over again in my family's home!

Before We All Had Computers, ca 1880

Carriage closed, ready to type, 1880s Remington Typewriter. Pay no attention to the clutter around the machine! I always have pieces of art, paint bottles, and print-outs lying around everywhere. My mother would have been the first to admit housekeeping wasn't 'her thing' and I'm proud to say I'm just like her, lol. All photos clickable to enlarge of course.

Carriage open, ready to access the ribbon or a sticking key. Notice the keys are arranged in a full circle and the ribbon lies flat at the top, unlike the typewriters most of us are familiar with. The early stages of some piece can be seen on the upper right. These would be the bright base coat squares, which get progressively smaller and more subtle, and eventually sanded and glazed. I'd say each of my pieces of art consists of at least 25-50 different layers of paint, paper, graphite, metallic pens, glazes and polyurethanes.

C O L L E C T I O N — This is my Remington Standard Typewriter, dating back to the early 1880s. It belonged to my mother's Uncle Art, whom I've mentioned on this blog before. The interesting part is the design of the carriage and keys, which are arranged in a full circle instead of the semi-circle they are on 'modern' typewriters. You can see the wide ribbon lies flat on the top of them also. I have some typed letters from the early 1900s, and typed recipes, and I've determined that this is the typewriter that was used. I did a test of it once, several years ago, and I forget which key it was, I think the lower case 'h' but it was very distinctively worn, and it matched the fragile old typed sheets perfectly. It is kept in its original packing crate, which is a really nice old wooden piece with cool typography on the sides.

The paper holder has the following printed on it:

Keep the machine free from dust

Clean all of the top rods -- especially

the shifting rod -- with a greasy cloth

 Every day

Who needs internet tech support or a software update installed when a greasy cloth will work?

The original wooden packing crate it came in. It says Remington Standard Typewriter on it in cool, vintage typography. I like to keep a lot of my antiques all around me. The karma they give off is exactly perfect for my art to absorb, and they remind me of the circle of life every single day.