Owen D. Young was a partner in a law firm in Boston in 1911 when he successfully represented one of his clients in a case against GE.  GE’s president was impressed with Owen, offered him the job of Chief Counsel, and within a decade he was president of GE. 

After World War I, the US government felt threatened by Britain’s position in global radio communications – the Marconi Company was by far the world leader in developing radio technology and its US subsidiary was the dominant radio provider in the US.  With some strong-arm support from the US Navy, GE, with Owen taking the lead, acquired the British-owned American Marconi Company, and used the Marconi assets to create the Radio Corporation of America.  RCA became the largest radio company in the world.

In 1929, in the 3rd year that Time Magazine named its ‘Man of the Year,’ Owen was given the honor for his work as chair of an international body working on a plan for WWI reparations to be paid by Germany (The Young Plan, which collapsed with the onset of the Great Depression).  In 1932 he was a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, although he never campaigned actively.

The Radiola UZ-1325 loudspeaker utilized a horn manufactured by the Miller Rubber Company (as did all of the upright horns manufactured by RCA). The UZ-1325 was introduced for the 1924 Christmas season and was the last horn marketed by RCA; by the end of 1926, RCA stopped selling horn speakers and moved entirely to cone type speakers.

This horn stands approximately 21” with a 12” bell (thew whole piece is 24” tall x 12” wide x 8.75” deep). The base is made from salvaged black walnut and finished with Betty’s Board Butter (Beeswax & mineral oil.) You may wish to re-oil your base occasionally. If your phone has stereo options you may want to play around with mono and stereo settings to see which you prefer.