Eighty-five years ago, this radio listener is showing off her RCA receiver. More specifically, she is showing the loop antenna mounted on the back, manufactured by Consolidated Wire and Associated Corporations. She is on the cover of the February 1940 issue of National Radio News, which devotes several pages to the use of such antennas.

If you see some buyer’s remorse in her eyes, it’s possibly because the small antenna doesn’t work as well as the old aerial that was previously connected to the set.  If the serviceman was approached by a customer wanting the added portability of such an antenna, it was recommended that they explain the shortcomings. As opposed to a longer antenna, fewer stations could be pulled in. But if the receiver was fairly sensitive, the strong local stations could be heard. If the receiver covered the shortwaves, the customer would need to be told that reception would be severely limited.