If you were browsing the pages of Life Magazine75 years ago today, December 13, 1948, and you didn’t have your Christmas presents picked out, you couldn’t go wrong with one of these RCA radios.

If you wanted the “luxury look” in an inexpensive set, then the Model 75X16 was just the thing. The model 8B43 portable was just 6-1/4 inches high and came on the instant you opened it, thanks to the miniature but sturdy tubes and long lasting RCA battery.

The model 8X521 tabletop set was only six inches tall, and the model 8BX6 Globetrotter was a portable that could run on either batteries or AC.