Brad,

I was wondering if you could help me out with a bit of info on the 1936 AWA Fisk radiola you have, the 4 knob empire state one.

I am looking at one for sale and want to know what I should and should not be paying for it. I have had a good look at it and all seems to be in order. Its in very good condition. It has the same bakelite knobs as the one you have pictured, are they the originals? The back is there and in one piece as well. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Peter

G'day Peter,

I paid $1,200.00 as far as I can remember, which is more than fair considering I got it at an antique shop. The knobs and the dial face are all original on my set though mine didn't come with a back as it was the earlier 'gold dust black' rather than the shiny piano black that came along later in the model's life cycle.

I think if you pay less than $2,000.00 for one of these then it is a fair price. These Radiolettes are very sought after, including my overseas collectors.

Brad

Thanks for the info. They are great looking radio. Just to be sure is this is the radio we are talking about.
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Ahhh sorry, looks like I was off the track a bit. You are talking about 'big brother' whereas I was talking about the smaller Radiolette series.

The knobs on this one are not original unfortunately. This set has also been butchered by someone who did an AC conversion on it. I'll be making it my life's work to change it back as quite a lot of this model were made for use with batteries - they were a popular farmer's receiver.

Whilst the Radiolas don't have as much attraction to them as the smaller Radiolettes do, they are most definitely still worthy of being in any collection. I must admit that if I found another in a colour I don't have and had the money on hand, I'd still pay upto $2,000.00 for one, though I think a reasonable price for this model is around the $1,200.00 mark.

Yeah the one I'm looking at has the same knobs as yours. Its in great condition although when I go back I wll check to see if it also has been butchered. Fortunately I have done alot of work for the fellow who is selling it and he has offered it to me for $650. Which sounds like a good price. How hard is to get replica knobs for this and other radios.

You should be able to get some genuine knobs though it can take time. I'd go for that option, even if it takes a while and perhaps stick with the current arrangement for now.

As for the price, if the cabinet is in A1 condition then swoop on that receiver - at that price he's giving it away.

Thanks for the info Brad, will try and post some pics of it when I pick it up tomorrow.