TRANSISTOR RADIO DESIGN

This masculine Gibraltar P-1405 was made in Japan by Toshiba in 1958. It was also marketed under the Penny’s brand. It has a very solid feel to it and has been given a bold and seasoned look by the design team at Toshiba, a look successfully employed in so many of their radios!

This Gibraltar P-1405 is certainly daring in its design and highly collectible! The front of the plastic cabinet appears to be white but upon closer examination it is actually a light arctic blue. The dark blue tuning knob is made of a translucent blue plastic and the same blue plastic is used on the back half of the casing. When held up to the light it glows and has an eerie 'otherworld' look to it. Spooky cool! It also features an under-painted dial area with a slide rule tuning dial that appears to float. And to top it off it has an unusual red anodized aluminum speaker grill. Very uncommon features!

Man what a great radio! Hey, what a great mans radio!

Picture this; 1950’s Manila, set amongst the tropics is an intimate and smoky little Gentleman’s club filled with inexpensive cane furniture and beautiful local girls… Half empty bottles of the finest Scotch whisky and boxes of Cuban cigars grace the tables of the gentry. On the top shelf, looking right at home amongst the books on history and philosophy sits a Gibraltar P-1405. As a rugged hand reaches up and reverently tunes in a local station the smooth and soulful sounds of a jazz band immediately fill the room. To a man the audience stands, raising their glasses as one! “Three cheers for Gibraltar”!

On the inside of this Gibraltar there is a Toshiba sticker attached to the rear of the speaker. On the sticker inside the back cover are details of the Gibraltar Manufacturing Company of Jersey City. This company was in business from the 1920s and through the 1950s. They made Windsor and Oxford brand clocks as well as toy Betsy Ross Sewing Machines and they even made a patented benchtop table saw! They must have entered into an agreement with either Toshiba or Penny’s to distribute the P-1405 under the Gibraltar name!