After World War 1, the huge Marconi Company began producing non-military receivers, principally for the amateur radio market. In December 1923 as the BBC was formed The Marconiphone Company Limited produced the first ever commercial radio sets. In December 1929 The Marconiphone Company was sold to the Gramophone Company, along with the right to use the trademark ‘Marconiphone’ and the copyrighted signature logo ‘G. Marconi’ for its domestic receivers. The Marconi business model had always been based around the fact that the majority of its radio equipment was leased. In 1929 the Company set up a series of sales and repair centres, creating a new industry in radio servicing using as its logo two stylised art deco ‘Marconi Men’. These undoubtedly took their design inspiration from Fritz Lang’s 1927 film Metropolis.
However, these sales and service departments only lasted for around 18 months and the ‘souvenir items’ that they issued (or sold?) are now increasingly collectable. There were sets of playing cards, a small pipe or pen knife, cufflinks, banners and a label badge – probably others featuring the ‘robot’ Marconi men. Let me know if you have found any others!
There was one other example in the form of heavy duty cast iron and then enamel painted sales signs that were hung outside the shops. These are actually 2 part heavy castings bolted together.
Until this year the only example I knew of was in the Oaklands’ museum collection – but that sign is actually on loan from The Oxford Bodleian collection, so I assume it has come full circle as it was part of the original collection once housed at Great Baddow all those years ago.
The Oxford sign also looks to be in perfect condition, but a closer inspection shows that at some time (I wonder if by Marconi apprentices?) it has been heavily and somewhat clumsily restored/ completely repainted - with in some areas incongruous/incorrect colours. It also doesn’t match the famous Marconiphone logo of the time as Marconi’s signature straddled the world using radio.
I have no idea how signs were made or supplied back in 1929 - it seems that all the signs apart from the Oxford/Oakland’s example were either returned or destroyed in 1931- when the Gramophone Company became Electric and Musical Industries (EMI).
However, late last year, another sign turned up in a remote Scottish auction house - so I bought it and postage was more than the sign - it’s not light! This “new”/old sign has also been part repainted (probably to sell it) in places, but still has much of its original, but damaged paint in place. A detailed study while wearing the appropriate anoraks has allowed us to determine the original colours for the whole sign (this involved lots of scraping and some solvent, but all ok as I’m now not bound by museum rules)...and in the two images above you can all play spot the differences….but I do like the Art Deco New Street with its masts(s)….
So I have decided to restore this very rare and 95-year-old historic item, while trying to retain as much original paint and patina as possible, we (well an expert sign writer/restorer) will remove the crude overpaint/spray and fill in damaged and discoloured areas and match the correct colours in the correct places – Interestingly both signs have the same flash/lightning broken off at the same point – classic design error fatigue point I guess - but ‘we’ are making a replica to fit.
So a fun project for me. Some light reading for you…. and then.. well .. I’ll probably end up lending it to the museum - - I don’t have a wall strong enough to hang it on. When ‘we’ have finished I will send an image up to the Journal – I will be looking for a full front cover feature!