1965 Zenith Royal 59
Shirt pocket radio, thermoplastic cabinet
4 1/2 x 2 5/8 x 1 1/4 / 114 x 67 x 32 mm
Eight transistors, two 1.5-volt AA cells
Manufactured by Zenith Radio Corp.; Chicago, Illinois
This is such a handsome radio for any year of production, and coming as late as 1965 makes it even more so. It's a very "sculptured" cabinet, with a textured aluminum grille and Zenith's name and logo displayed on a reflective metallic backing. A brushed aluminum dial area surrounds the circular tuning dial, with the tuning knob above it. The on/off volume knob is clear plastic, an interesting touch.
The two examples here are both Royal 59-1 models, both 8NT52Z9 chassis, though there may have been several other versions of this set, at least one with a slightly different chassis, 8NT52Z8. And as these are 1965 radios, there are of course no CD markings on the dials. But both examples do have one of those memorable "THIS ZENITH RADIO CAN PAY FOR ITSELF" stickers on their back face (see photo below).
Cabinet differences between these two examples really illustrate how gorgeous each of these is in its own way: The set on the left on the photos below has a white back half and a black front half, giving a very strong contrast between them. The tuning knob also is black. As gold always goes well with black, the grille is gold in color, as well as the metallic backing displaying the Zenith name and logo. By contrast, the set on the right has a turquoise back half and white front half, a white tuning knob, a silver-colored grille and a turquoise metallic backing for the Zenith name and logo. There is also a version with a white front half and brown back half.
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