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First advertisement for a radio...
First advertisement for a radio...
Item # 716536
November 25, 1905
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, New York, Nov. 25, 1905
* Very first known radio advertisement
This issue is desired for containing the first advertisement for a radio for sale. Although inconspicuously located near the back of the issue, it is a landmark item for any early radio collectors.
This advertisement for the Electro Importing Company's new radio transmitting-and-receiving package, the "Telimco Wireless Telegraph Outfit", "Guaranteed to work up to one mile", first appeared in this very issue and then began running weekly starting two weeks later.
The Telimco system included a battery-operated spark transmitter plus a tapping-coherer receiver, also battery operated. The use of a spark transmitter and tapping-coherer receiver meant it could only be used to send and receive telegraphic dots-and-dashes, and not full audio.
This ad measures 2-1/4 by 1-1/8 inches.
It was later reported that some were so suspicious whether the Telimco Outfits could really be sold so cheaply that the New York City police department investigated to make sure the ads were not really a scam (credit: EarlyRadioHistory.us).
Complete in 20 pages, small library stamp at the top, very nice condition.
background: In the November 25, 1905 issue of Scientific American, a small but historically significant advertisement appeared for the "Telimco Wireless Telegraph Outfit," marking the first known consumer-oriented radio advertisement. Placed by the Electro Importing Company—founded by Hugo Gernsback—the ad measured just over two inches wide and promoted a complete wireless telegraphy kit for only $6.00 to $8.50, making radio technology accessible to hobbyists and the general public for the first time. The kit included a battery-powered spark-gap transmitter and a coherer-based receiver, capable of sending and receiving Morse code signals over short distances. Though modest in presentation, this advertisement signaled the birth of amateur radio as a consumer phenomenon and laid the foundation for future public engagement with wireless communication. Its impact was so novel that New York police reportedly investigated the company to ensure the product was real, highlighting how revolutionary and unexpected the idea of at-home radio equipment was at the time.
Category: The 20th Century
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