TheRed1
Console Conservationist
Without question. Based on the increasing number of employees and the square footage of their production facilities, I figure Fisher would have probably broken the 1,000 unit/year mark sometime around 1950 with continued steady growth throughout the 50s.
The Philharmonic Radio Co. would have had to average around 150 units/year (including chassis for custom installations) during their approximate 4½ years of production to have produced the 600 total units that they are supposed to have produced. Avery Fisher stated that in 1937 he began with 2 employees (Victor Brociner & Stanley Bogart - actually they were his partners) in a 400 ft.² loft in Chelsea.
Production after the war would have taken several years to return to those numbers. Radio prices were government controlled by the OPA until Oct. 29, 1946. There were also material shortages. Not to mention that Fisher was starting over with a whole new company. But I think he hit the road running with a lot of momentum left over from Philharmonic.
The original Fisher "Laboratories" at 117 W. 63rd St. (now the site of the Lincoln Center and Avery Fisher Hall) were originally only 2,000 ft.². Avery himself said that he had 15 employees in 1946. I think that must have been before the famous Oct. Fortune Article that mentioned Fisher so prominently and in such complimentary terms. A follow-up article in the Nov. 18, 1946 edition of Time stated that he had "a few dozen" workmen who were working overtime to try to reduce the backlog of orders - no doubt the result of the Fortune article.
I know Fisher had some difficulties with the increasing competition for the home entertainment dollar from television in the late 40s. However, with the coming of the LP in 1948, business must have improved considerably. Sometime before 1951 Fisher moved his production facilities out to Long Island City. First to a 16,000 ft.² facility at 45-41 Van Dam St. (The building is no longer standing but the Van Dam Diner is on the same block) where he employed about 150 people. Then with the boom in "high fidelity" in the early 50s he expanded yet again, sometime before 1954, to the famous 21-21 44th Dr. L. I. City location, (45,000 ft.² still standing and currently for sale - It would make a great Fisher museum!). I believe that building was purpose-built and owned by Fisher. He was employing about 300 there by 1954.
That should give you some idea of Fisher's growth in their early years. If they were producing 1,000 units/year from their tiny Manhattan facilities, then you can imagine the numbers they would have been able to produce once they moved out to bigger digs in L. I. City. You do need to factor in their production of components starting in 1953. That was probably a major factor in their growth throughout the mid to late 50s and would have reduced the amount of space and manpower available for console production.
In the grander scheme of things, Fisher's production numbers are quite small. But for a "high fidelity" manufacturer from this period they were probably among the industry leaders if not the actual leader. I would also think that a higher percentage of Fisher Radio-Phonographs would have survived than most "lesser" brands. Their quality and longevity would have kept them out of the basement for far longer than most of their contemporary consoles. Once a console ends up in the basement the outlook for its future is not good. I keep wondering how many Fishers were lost in the recent flooding throughout the Northeast.
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) As you are facing the Tonearm, if the 78 is facing you on the knob, then the 78 stylus should be on that side. If not then just pull them straight out and reverse them. 