Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bruce, who writes:
Here is an unknown radio from the recent Netflix mini-series “Ripley”. The setting is early 1960’s Italy.
IMO this show was very good and artistically filmed in black & white.
Beautiful radio–thanks, Bruce! Readers: can you ID this vintage model? Please comment!
Hi. Yes it is a Superla. There is one for sale on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166152178519
Jim
Rob, Gary, Dan,
Well done on spotting the links, definitely looks like both the Superla 623 T and the Silva – which aside from branding look identical.
Also – from memory – the chassis looks similar to a Pye chassis I picked up as a boy in Cambridge in the 1970s, at that time Pye was owned by Philips but still had their works in Cambridge….
However, Radio Museum has this entry in Italian, 1st the Google Translate translation:
“It began in the late 1920s (early 1930s) as Cresa Radio, based in Modena, importing American ERLA radio receivers (the classic cassette radios). Later, towards the mid-1930s, due to the high taxes imposed on imports, Superla Radio Cresa (Super-Erla) was founded with a production plant in Bologna. Luxurious devices were produced both in design, fine woods and advanced architectural lines, and in terms of technology. Automatic tuning, on pre-selected stations, was available in many models. Initially, the commercial organization covered the main Italian cities, gradually decreasing after the war, until it became a Europhon brand.
Freely from the Aireradio website.”
”
Inizia alla fine degli anni ’20 (inizio ’30) come Cresa Radio, con sede in Modena, importando i radioricevitori americani ERLA (le classiche radio a cassetta). In seguito, verso la metà degli anni ‘30 a causa delle forti tasse imposte sull’importazione venne fondata la Superla Radio Cresa (Super-Erla) con stabilimento di produzione a Bologna. Vennero prodotti apparecchi lussuosi sia nel design, legni pregiati e linee architettoniche evolute, sia per quanto riguarda la tecnica. La sintonia automatica, su stazioni preselezionate, era disponibile in molti modelli. Inizialmente l’organizzazione commerciale copriva le principali città Italiane, diminuendo progressivamente dopo la guerra, sino a diventare un marchio di Europhon.
Liberamente dal sito Aireradio.”
Source: https://www.radiomuseum.org/dsp_hersteller_detail.cfm?company_id=1817
Looking up Cresa Superla on Google one sees that Cresa had a line of luxury looking radios using the Superla label going back to the 1930s.
By the way also in the photo is a nice looking rangefinder camera with the collapsing lens that was so popular from the 1920s to the 1960s in high end 35mm cameras. It has the form factor of a Leica III. But since the scene is set in Italy, I wonder if it might be a Ducatti? Yes, Ducatti, now famous for their motorcycles, started off as a high end radio and electrical goods manufacturer, branched in highend half-frame 35mm cameras with similar form factor to the Leica III but much smaller…
I didn’t try to identify the lovely clam shell travelling clock…
73
Julian
further infos
https://www.aireradio.org/enciclopedia/radio-superla/
in italian, but easily translated, also check the main site
https://www.aireradio.org/
🙂
Google Lens is an extremely powerful tool. I captured a screenshot and used Lens. After reviewing a number of near hits, I spotted this in the search results: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166152178519
SUPERLA 623T radio 623TSuperla – Cresa; Modena
Rob
https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/silva_silva_6700.html
Perhaps?
Almost – that’s the “Intel” branded version of this:
https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/superla_623t.html
The pictured radio says “Superla” and the matching logo of what appears to be an Italian company, but it seems if that was ever a manufacturer that may have ended with WWII – this radio was OEM produced for the Italian market only around 1970 and it looks like both Intel and Superla were merely brands of a Italian-German venture named Europhon. Some of the products were least-cost magazine ad mail order and book club jobs. How I know?
My mum got this radio…
https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/europhon_723t.html
…in 1970 as “Intel Terzett”, partly as a scammy book club “bounty”. It looks like the basic layout is pretty similar to this Superla even. I have spend many hours using and trying to kill this radio, it served as my first improvised BFO and all. It’s been a long time but in my recollection everything inside was “Far East but maybe not Japan, it doesn’t want to speak about it.”
It looks like a Philips or similar console — “Super 6” is seen on the photo.
Well that took only one minute on Google. 🙂