CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
During the 1920's, a dramatic change in communication and entertainment occurred. Radio allowed people to connect with others across the country and, eventually, across continents. The development of new technology helped to increase production in the entertainement and business industries. Radio brought the world into the homes of ordinary people exposing them to new cultrues and forms of entertainment.
In Richmond, WRVA made its first broadcast on November 2, 1925, from a studio in the Edgeworth Tobacco factory. Owned by the Larus & Brother Company, the station initially operated as a community service without commercial revenue and broadcast only two nights a week. WRVA would become the largest radio station in the state after the purchase of a 1000 watt transmitter from Western Electric Company. By 1929, WRVA operated a 5,000-watt transmitter which allowed them to braodcast all day, seven days a week. As an affiliate of NBC and later CBS, WRVA placed considerable emphasis on the state's regional culture, sporting events, and special local programming coverage.
Citation: Wireless Age, Oct. 1924 Cover. The Wireless Age; an illustrated monthly magazine of radio communication. (New York: Wireless Press) Serial TK5700.W4. Library of Virginia.
In Richmond, WRVA made its first broadcast on November 2, 1925, from a studio in the Edgeworth Tobacco factory. Owned by the Larus & Brother Company, the station initially operated as a community service without commercial revenue and broadcast only two nights a week. WRVA would become the largest radio station in the state after the purchase of a 1000 watt transmitter from Western Electric Company. By 1929, WRVA operated a 5,000-watt transmitter which allowed them to braodcast all day, seven days a week. As an affiliate of NBC and later CBS, WRVA placed considerable emphasis on the state's regional culture, sporting events, and special local programming coverage.
Citation: Wireless Age, Oct. 1924 Cover. The Wireless Age; an illustrated monthly magazine of radio communication. (New York: Wireless Press) Serial TK5700.W4. Library of Virginia.
Standards
Social Studies: USII.3, USII.4, USII.5, CE.9, VUS.8 English: 6.5, 7.6, 7.7, 11.4
Physics: PS.8, PH.4, PH.10
Art: 4.1, 5.1, 4.18, 5.18
Physics: PS.8, PH.4, PH.10
Art: 4.1, 5.1, 4.18, 5.18
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the image. What is happening in the image?
Post Activites
STEM STAT: What did the phrase "wireless age" mean in 1924 versus today? Did technology make the world bigger or smaller in the early twentieth century?
Consider the difference in communications depicted in the image versus communications today.
Artistic Exploration: Create an advertisement (print or voice) fsellign radios to the general public in 1924. What features might you emphasize? To whom would you market the radio?
Think About It: Look at the cover art and briefly describe what "point" this 1924 magazine is making. As a side issue, to what extent do you find any irony in the sleeping white man and what he is listening to?
Look at It: Look at the image. What is happening in the image?
Post Activites
STEM STAT: What did the phrase "wireless age" mean in 1924 versus today? Did technology make the world bigger or smaller in the early twentieth century?
Consider the difference in communications depicted in the image versus communications today.
Artistic Exploration: Create an advertisement (print or voice) fsellign radios to the general public in 1924. What features might you emphasize? To whom would you market the radio?
Think About It: Look at the cover art and briefly describe what "point" this 1924 magazine is making. As a side issue, to what extent do you find any irony in the sleeping white man and what he is listening to?