Posted by Peter Ceresole on November 20, 2013 at 07:38:24 user PeterC.
In Reply to: Re: Old images of Norfolk posted by Tom Napier on November 20, 2013 at 06:58:13:
Probably not a crystal set. My guess would be a two-valve radio
I'm sure you're right- I don't know much about old radio sets except for my parents' old Murphy radiogram which was a real freestanding piece of furniture with a loudspeaker- when we moved house after the war, we moved from DC supply (Sheen) to AC (Kensington) and it needed a motor/generator to run. I thought 'crystal set' because of the headphones.
The real Hullaballoo device is the Decca portable gramophone further down the photos. I winced when I read the text.
I had exactly the same reaction. Especially the 'quiet evening' bit. Of course, the absolute volume available was nothing compared with ghetto blasters, which would be the modern equivalent. But then in the '30s, ambient noise levels would be different. Far fewer cars to destroy the peace, although individually they wouldn't be any quieter. And no overflying jets. Background music much rarer- when a store manager would play gramophone records to gee up his customers- or the station master at Waterloo, I think it was- it would make a story for the newsreels or the papers. So a Decca portable would horrify those it would horrify... Very much including nesting coots.