1961 Ekco Vanity PT378
Leather-covered portable
9 5/8 x 5 1/8 x 2 3/4 inches / 225 x 146 x 70 mm
2-band MW/LW, six transistors, superheterodyne circuit, vernier tuning
9-volt battery
Manufactured by Ekco, E.K.Cole Ltd.
A gorgeous set that's more cosmetically complex and solidly built than many of its contemporaries. The Vanity's MW and LW bands are calibrated in meters, and both bands also display by name a number of broadcasters of the time. The vernier tuning dial is incredibly smooth in its movement.
The interior body of the cabinet is made of molded Masonite. The cabinet's exterior consists of several distinct uses of vinyl plastic: the red vinyl leatherette of the front and back, the imitation-canvas white plastic covering that wraps around the cabinet body, and the two soft white vinyl strips joining both faces of the leatherette with the imitation-canvas. The handle is red vinyl secured by two massive brass tubular "lugs", for lack of a better word here. On the bottom of the set are four small white vinyl feet, the front two of which are visible in the first photo below. The on/off-volume switch and the LW/MW band switch are framed by a brass plate. And the 3/8-deep, 3-inch diameter vernier tuning dial is clear acrylic with a solid brass dial center — if I had bothered to polish the brass dial center before taking the photos, the set would look even better....
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