How to Join The Radio History Society

Dear Radio and Television History Fan:

The Radio History Society (RHS) is dedicated to the preservation of radio and television history.  In June, 1999 we opened our new Radio-Television Museum in Bowie, Maryland.  We hope that you will consider becoming a member of the RHS.

This area is home to a large number of people enthusiastic about preserving this segment of our nation's history.  RHS owns large quantities of old literature and radio artifacts.  Because RHS is an IRS 501(c)(3) organization, donations of money or equipment to RHS and RHS memberships are tax deductible.

What's in it for you if you join RHS?

For starters, we have a new, wonderful museum, with hundreds of artifacts relating to the history of radio and television broadcasting.  We provide a walk through the development of home receivers.  In addition to the primary exhibit, we plan to have rotating exhibits which will be updated every few months.  For instance, we may feature a wonderful collection of broadcast microphones or transistor and novelty radios.  Another time we may feature communications and ham radio equipment.   From time to time, we will feature entire lines by specific manufacturers such as Atwater Kent or RCA.

For most Mid-Atlantic region radio/TV collectors and radio/TV history buffs, creation of the research library alone might be enough incentive to join and support RHS. Imagine having an extensive research library of early radio materials available for you to use--shelves filled with Riders, Sams, and other service materials, plus radio text books, journals, and much more. And this is not something for the distant future. RHS has acquired many early journals such as Proceedings of the IRE from the World War I era to the 1940s. We also have bound volumes of rare radio magazines such as All-Wave Radio from the 1930s. Imagine being able to browse through old magazines like Radio Broadcast, Radio News, and Radio Retailing and be able to copy articles that you need. Imagine being able to check out textbooks of early radio and browse through dozens of file cabinets and shelves filled with early product literature.

RHS is reprinting early radio literature, both as a service to the antique radio community, and as a way of raising money. We hope to have the first examples available soon. RHS members will get a discount on such publications.

RHS sponsors dinners from time to time, with interesting radio related entertainment. RHS members get a discount on tickets for these events.

As a member you would receive our RHS Newsletters, with news of other radio museums as well as RHS news. Memberships in RHS start at only $25 per year. (If you can give more, please do, and remember that all memberships are tax deductible.) Another thing you can do to help is to donate radio items to RHS. Particularly nice items will be saved for our museum.

Take a minute to fill in the application blank on this Web site and help us make the museum and library a reality.

To obtain an application Click Here and print the application form when it is on your screen.