Focusing on the design of pocket transistor radios manufactured during the 1950's & 1960's!

by James J Butters

EMERSON 888 SATELLITE

This cosmic Emerson 888 Satellite was manufactured in the USA in 1958. It is part of the 888 series, a very popular line of Emerson Radios with Space Age themes. This is the rarest of the 888 series. Three of the other four, the Pioneer, Vanguard and Explorer are fairly common and the Atlas is less so.

 

 

 

 

 

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This Emerson Satellite is encased in a white leather cabinet. Perhaps that is part of the reason they are so rare these days. It features a unique speaker grill that reminds me of a meteor shower. It has a very nice gold satellite logo next to the tuning dial. It has two domes that fasten the back of the radio allowing easy access to the battery compartment. It has a leather carry handle on top and it is a good idea to regularly apply leather conditioner to this and the body to prevent it from drying out and snapping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This Emerson Satellite came in three colors, black, brown and white. It was also marketed in Canada as a Marconi 489 Constellation.

The Emerson Radio Corp was formed in 1915 as the Emerson Phonograph Co based in New York City. By 1942 Emerson held one sixth of the US radio market. They manufactured their first transistor radio in 1955 and made a couple of leather clad clunkers before hitting the jackpot with the 888 series in 1958. Today most Emerson products are mass produced cheaply in China and this once proud company is just a shadow of what it once was in its glory days.