This is a scarce blue plaskon Detrola 274 with a white grill.
It is a small radio measuring only about 9" wide and 5" tall.
Perfect examples of the Detrola 274 are unheard of because of their fragile construction.
The plaskon cabinets were thin and suffered the usual plaskon stress line malady,
and the tenite inset grills were fragile and easily chipped and warped over time.
Different plaskon cabinet color combinations were available (seen below).
And an even rarer example of this radio design was made; the Detrola 281 with a catalin cabinet,
one of the rarest catalin radios to be found.
A nicely designed Detrola 2811 wood version was also an option.
And two other radios with nearly identical (catalin) cabinets included
the Canadian-made Crosley G1465
and a super scarce Symphony that included a handle.
An example of the Symphony sold for an incredible $51K at a Bonham's Dec 2007 auction.
Red catalin Halliwell "Solar Beam" ionizers using a cabinet with the same design
are known to have been converted to appear as the model 281,
although no true red catalin versions were ever known to have been made.


Canadian Crosley G1465 (catalin cabinet) and (ivory & red plaskon cabinet)
(click on the thumbnails for more info)



beetle and plaskon versions: