The Shamrock Manufacutring Co. 1925-1928
314-322 Market Street Newark, N.J.
Phone: Mulberry 0345
This Page is all about the fun i've had collecting and preserving
Shamrock Radio's
I have been in touch with the New Jersey historical society in order to find out more about the Shamrock Co.
Here is what they found out:
1.) There is only one entry for the company (located at 196-204 Waverly Avenue) in the Newark City Directory of 1927.
There are no entries (with same address) before and after 1927. Does that mean the company existed for only one year?
Or did it relocate? Here is a piece of information on the Internet http://www.faqs.org/qa/qa-10456.html, which seems to
suggest that the company was located somewhere else in Newark.
2.) The Industrial Directory of New Jersey (1927 edition), p. 116, has a listing for the company. It manufactured “radio parts”
and employed 10 male and 15 female adults.
It appears as if the company moved around a bit in its short history, in 1925 they were at 314-322 Market Street.
In 1926 and 27 they were located at 196-204 Waverly Ave. There may even be a third location before they went
bankrupt in 1928. To my knowledge they only made 4 models of TRF AM radios, If there is an AC Shamrock
model I would sure like to see it. They also made TRF radio parts and kits from the beginning. They had a strange
relation for a short time with the Harkness Radio Company. They offered a Shamrock-Harkness Two Tube Reflex
radio kit that was thier top of the line kit and sold for $35.00 in 1925. The tubes were not included. The largest kit
from Shamrock Manufacturing was a TRF radio Kit, no transformers or tube sockets, just the 3 tunning circuits.
They offered everything you needed to build your own radio. They did offer Super-Heterodyne parts so it may
be possible there is a Super-Het Shamrock out there somewhere.
The original Shamrock radio circuit used was patented in 1922 by John Vincent Loveless Hogan(1890-1960).
A very famous name from early radio and television. One of Hogan's first jobs in 1907 was working for the
well known radio pioneer De Forest. Not many radios from the early 20's had only 1 tuning dial. This was
Hogans claim to fame. It is a Tuned Radio Frequency receiver, however it is very very strange. I have posted
both a schematic for the model A and model B chassis's . When the model B chassis came along in 1926 they
stopped showing the Hogan Patent which is a bit strange. There are just a few slight differences between the A
chassis and the B chassis. Must have been just enough to move away from paying for the Hogan patent.
I will add more information about the Shamrock Company As I can find it, As of now I'm aware of only 4
radio models. The Deluxe(with molded horn speaker), the Model A, the Model B, and the Grand Model A
which is a modified B chassis in an model A cabinet.
I hope you enjoy the Shamrock's as much as I do. I will always admit that original and unmolested radios
make the best collectibles, However, all my radios are barn finds that really need a second chance. Do I
take liberties with the cabinets ? you bet I do. The cabinets were pretty much already destroyed. The
chassis's on the other hand are returned to thier original specifications and apperance. I do not take
many liberties with any chassis I restore.
Just select a Shamrock to exam them further:
The Shamrock Model A
The Shamrock Model B
The Shamrock Deluxe
The Shamrock TRF radio kit / with rare Shamrock factory documentation
A 1925 Pocket sales add for Shamrock Kits and Parts
(that is why some of it appears up-side down)
Thanx for visiting my Shamrock page, if you find any Shamrock history
Please give me a shout,,,,