About the Company
Revere was the Revere Camera Company’s brand that — alongside its better‑known camera and projector products — also produced reel‑to‑reel tape recorders in the 1950s. Tape recorder production was a relatively small part of Revere’s portfolio and did not become a core business focus, but several models were marketed to the consumer home audio market in the late 1940s through the 1950s.
Company: Revere Camera Company
Country of Manufacture: United States
Reel‑to‑Reel Production Era: ~1949 – late 1950s (with ads not found after ~1961)
Market: Consumer home audio
Typical Technology: Vacuum‑tube (tube) electronics on early machines; some later solid‑state examples exist
Typical Features: Half‑track mono, 3¾ and 7½ ips tape speeds, 7″ reel capacity
Company Background
Origins
The Revere Camera Company was founded in 1920 in Chicago, Illinois, by Samuel Briskin (originally as a radiator maker). It became known in the 1930s and 1940s as a manufacturer of small movie cameras and projectors.
Entry into Tape Recorders
In the early 1950s, as magnetic tape became commercially viable for home use, Revere began producing reel‑to‑reel tape recorders and occasionally shared facilities with Wollensak after the latter was acquired and then later part of 3M’s Mincom Division.
However, tape recorders were never the company’s core product, and the brand’s presence in the reel‑to‑reel space was relatively short‑lived compared with larger audio manufacturers.
Notable Revere Reel‑to‑Reel Models
Revere’s tape recorders were typically tube‑based, 2‑head designs aimed at consumer use. A range of models appeared in the 1950s:
Early Consumer Models (1949–1952)
Revere T‑100, T‑200, T‑500 & T‑600 — among Revere’s first tape recorders, introduced around 1949. All featured tube electronics, monaural recording/playback, and a single reel speed (3¾ ips), though some variants like the 500/600 added 1⅞ ips operation and built‑in AM radios on certain versions.
Mid‑1950s Series
Revere T‑700D and TR‑800D — more refined consumer units with dual speeds (3¾ & 7½ ips), optional AM radio tuners, and push‑button controls.
Revere T‑10 & T‑20 — contemporary variants using similar transport mechanisms for the home market.
Later 1950s Lineup
Revere T‑900, 1000, 1100, 1200 and 1120 — introduced mid‑1950s, these continued the tube consumer deck tradition with half‑track mono designs and optional built‑in radios.
Revere T‑11 — one of the later tube‑era models (c. 1955–1958), offering external audio outputs and improved frequency response, with some units able to handle larger reels up to ~10½″.
Revere TR‑200 — a later transition model that used solid‑state electronics and retained mono open‑reel recording, indicating Revere’s brief movement toward transistors.
Technical & Market Characteristics
Tube‑Era Consumer Decks
Most Revere open‑reel machines used tube amplifiers and simple transports with two heads (record/playback), typical of mid‑20th‑century consumer designs.
Tape Speeds and Format
Standard tape speeds: 3¾ ips, often with 7½ ips as an option on later units, giving better fidelity at faster speed.
Track format: ½‑track mono, common before the widespread adoption of consumer stereo.
Reel capacity: Up to 7″, with some larger‑capacity support on later models like the T‑11.
Consumer Position
Revere’s tape recorders were modest, affordable units aimed at home recording and playback, not professional or broadcast markets. Their build quality and performance were average compared with later hi‑fi decks from Japanese brands.
End of Production & Legacy
Revere’s reel‑to‑reel offerings were heavily concentrated in the 1950s. Ads for Revere decks effectively disappear after about 1961, and production did not significantly continue into the 1960s as hi‑fi technology advanced and as Japanese imports began to dominate the consumer reel‑to‑reel market.
In 1960, the Revere Camera Company was sold to 3M, a much larger conglomerate; tape recorder production was not central to 3M’s business and declined as the market shifted toward other formats like cassette and more advanced reel decks from specialists.
Revere tape recorders are now vintage curiosities, reminding collectors of mid‑century U.S. consumer audio but are not typically highlighted alongside enduring reel‑to‑reel brands like Revox, TEAC, or Akai.