RCA Victor Loudspeaker
Flush Wall Mounting
A.F. 6165A
Early 1930s
RCA Victor Company, Inc.
New York, New York, USA

    This interesting item, which resembles a radio, is actually a multi channel wall mount speaker which incorporates the RCA 100A cone speaker.  It has a four position audio input switch and volume control.  Long ago a speaker like this could have been used in a hotel room or in a train's passenger car where a person would have had a choice of selecting one of four radio programs that were wired into the room.  Another possible use would be for a radio retailer to demonstrate up to four radio sets using this speaker.  This unit is in mint condition and has never been used.  I acquired this speaker on June 7, 2004 from an empty store building in Atlanta, Indiana.

Measurements:
Height...13.5 inches
Width...11.25 inches
Depth...5.5 inches

    There is an extra model number at the bottom of the wooden panel which states A.F.- 6175.  This is most likely the actual model number to this speaker.

  This is the identification label which is attached to the outer acoustical shell of the speaker.

    This is the store front that the speaker came out of.  It was built in 1885 and housed various business including a TV/Radio repair shop that existed for many years up until the mid 1960s when the building became a hardware store until 2002.  The second story consisted of two office rooms facing the front and a large room in the back which was big enough to have been used as a meeting hall,  a theater or to have held vaudeville shows.  The room contained about 100 console radios and early TVs along with some vintage kitchen appliances.  By the time I got there, all but three of the console radios were hauled away to the dump.  The owner of the building didn't know any collectors in the area to contact so the old stock was junked.  Apparently a good majority of the radios were Zeniths.

    This is what tipped me off about the building's situation, a decrepit 1936 Zenith 6V62 console which was propped up to the front window and partially hidden behind the sale banner.  I managed to track down  the name of the buildings owner from the restraunt next door, contacted the owner and set up a time to meet with him at the building.  Along with the speaker, I also acquired the Zenith in the window, another identical Zenith that was upstairs, and a 1930s RCA car radio, all for $15.  The two Zeniths were later salvaged of all valuable parts since the cabinets were beyond any kind of restoration.

This web page was last updated: December 11, 2006