I have just started reading a very interesting history called "Zenith
Radio, The Early Years, 1919-1935," written by Harold N. Cones and John
H. Bryant.
I was surprised to find out that Zenith, which was called CRL (Chicago
Radio Laboratory), was affiliated with the QRS Music Roll Company in
Chicago. In fact, QRS as early as 1921 manufactured parts for CRL in
Chicago at Kedzie Avenue and 48th Street. Also, when the Zenith
Corporation was first formed, QRS' President, Thomas Pletcher, was named
Vice-President of Zenith.
There are a number of photos in the book showing the CRL manufacturing
being done on one of the floors of the QRS facility. A network of music
stores in the early twenties were used to market the early Zenith radios.
I wanted to pass along this information to see whether anyone has any
additional comments about the QRS-Zenith connection.
John Bartlett
Woodruff, SC
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