Walter Dorwin Teague (1883-1960) was an Art Deco designer that we can credit the fabulous Nocturne and Bluebird Radios to. He was born in Decatur, IN, but moved to New York at age twenty, where he attended the Art Students League in New York from 1903-1907, studying painting. He went on to be a professional graphic designer illustrating magazines. Later, he worked for Eastman Kodak in 1928 where he designed the Brownie (Baby Brownie in 1934 and the Hawkeye Brownie in 1950). In 1944, he was named the first president for the Society of Industrial Designers (SID).
My favorite design he did is the Nocturne and Bluebird radios.
I first saw the Nocturne at the High Museum in Atlanta. It is a beautiful floor model radio that stands about 3.8 feet high., a dazzling round piece of blue mirror and neat silver embellishments in all Art Deco glory.
The Nocturne was released in 1936 by Sparton Corporation, selling at $375. An advertisement in that day described the radio as "a daring and brilliant ensemble in glass and metal by Walter Dorwin Teague…A circle of midnight blue Tufflex mirror glass rests in a satin chrome cradle…Beautiful state setting for High Fidelity receiver cleverly concealed behind the chrome barred grille."
The Nocturne:
There are not many Nocturne radios left, but the starting price for an authentic one would be around $25,000. The Bluebird is like the sister to the Nocturne. It is a smaller version that came out around the same time, standing a little over 1 foot tall. In 1934, the price of one was around $40-$45. Now, an authentic Bluebird is worth from $2000-$3500 (maybe over!). Just a replica is usually listed at $150. I was lucky enough to find one on Craigslist last year for $50. I love blue shiny things.
The Bluebird:
