How the Ekco AD-65 brought Art Deco to the radio
The Ekco AD-65 is a radio designed by Wells Coates in 1932 and manufactured in 1934 by E.K. Cole Ltd. in Essex. The V&A describes it as one of EKCO’s 1930s round radios that became Art Deco design classics; its record does not specify a more precise manufacturing location.[1][2][3]
Visible design: The catalogue describes a circular case resting on two integrated feet, with a cut-away central speaker area crossed by three vertical bars; below it are three tuning knobs, while an upper semicircular opening reveals the dials.[4] Documented materials and construction: The V&A records a moulded dark-brown Bakelite case intended to imitate burr walnut, alongside a woven fabric speaker screen and stainless-steel bars.[5]
Production context: EKCO began selling plastic radio cabinets in 1930, and the V&A notes that Wells Coates won the AD-65 design commission in a competition. This makes the set a documented example of a named designer’s work applied to a consumer radio, without implying a particular price or ownership pattern.[6][7]
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