If you're an uncompromising collector of antique technology, make sure to check out all my listings after you look at this one. I don't think you'll find a better, broader or more balanced assortment of technical antiques anywhere -- hundreds of listings each year, almost all of them featuring eye-popping "gee whiz" gadgetry in exceptional original condition. And don't forget, you can click this link to quickly add and then save me to your favorite seller list and Ebay will automatically send you updates when I put similar new auctions online.

Perhaps the world's first "all-in-one" home receiving set designed specifically for the novice, the ruggedly built MESCO Type "B" -- introduced in 1910 and cataloged a few months later in the Manhattan Electrical Supply Company's 80-page radio compendium, the Manual of Wireless Telegraphy -- could be purchased for $7.50, a week's pay at the time.

For an additional six dollars (another week's pay), a super sensitive 3,000 ohm MESCO type 481 double-driver headset could be substituted for the 75 ohm MESCO type 468 single driver receiver that was included with the outfit.

And that's what you have here. A somewhat lavish expense (adjusted for 110 years worth of inflation), but a beautiful radio, and one that still works.

Condition of this outfit is excellent overall -- close to mint -- and the receiver's interior is pristine. The MESCO 454 detector is complete and correct, and the MESCO 481 headset has good drivers and a clean, undamaged cord. The Manhattan Electrical Supply Co. tag on the face of the solid oak cabinet is crisp and legible, and two slabs of mineral are included in the crystal canister.

The Manual of Wireless Telegraphy, which is also included, is in good condition, with normal signs of wear consistent with age and gentle handling.

With the lid in place, the radio's cabinet measures approximately 10" x 7" x 4". Shipping weight for everything, properly packed, will be approximately 12 lb.

If you wish to operate the radio, you'll need a longwire outdoor antenna (about 120 long and 10-15 feet off the ground), and a good indoor ground connection. You'll also need a lot of patience. Though simple in design, the radio can be difficult to use. The detector is "twitchy," and even the slightest movement can reduce a cleanly tuned station to complete silence.

In the video above, I'm amplifying the radio's output with an early Magnavox PA amplifier and horn. You are buying only the radio outfit. 

I'm one of ebay's best known, most highly regarded sellers of antique radios, and I specialize in radios from the 1920's. I've been selling and shipping them for more than 25 years. When you purchase an antique radio from me, you'll receive a radio that arrives safely because it's been carefully packed (by me, not by some well-intentioned but nonetheless confounded, doe-eyed teenager working at the UPS store who wouldn't know a phonograph from a farm tool), Sure, you can probably get a lower price from Joe and Janet Barn-Find, but when your "bargain" arrives broken, and without any hint of how you might be able to put it back together, you'll realize that you really do get exactly what you pay for.