Ca. 1916 Bowman Crystal Detector * Boston * Excellent
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Unusual and very early crystal detector manufactured by A.W. Bowman of Boston, MA. As you can see in the photographs, the detector is in excellent condition thoughout, with very nice original nickel plating, all of its original hardware, a perfect bakelite base and its original crystal still in place. In fact, the crystal itself is quite distinctive. Unlike later Bowman detectors, which utilized more or less conventional crystals secured in conventional crystal holders, the crystal on this model is housed in what appears to be a plaster well inside a little bowl with a knurled bakelite rim and a nickle-plated cup. The "bowl" is secured to the base by a machine screw, and thus it can be rotated (along with the crystal) 360 degrees for the most accurate placement of the crystal with respect to the catwhisker. The condition of the knurled rim is still pretty much perfect, so I doubt this detector saw much action when it was new. Like many early detectors, this Bowman model was designed to be a precision instrument. Its build quality is outstanding, its catwhisker is designed to stay put once set, and it probably sold for several dollars when it was new, unlike later, mass-produced detectors, which sold for a fraction of that amount and were difficult to keep properly adjusted. Buyer pays shipping. Paypal okay.
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