This book would have probably never seen the light of the day had I not had the need to use it.
In fact the main reason I put it together was and is that I needed it for my own use. As a collector I need to consult data for my everyday study, research and enjoyment of the historical and social side of my collection. I need to have all the facts at my fingertips and all in a handy format. I believe this book answers mine and other collectors needs in relation to a brand name that needs no introduction: Sony.
Collecting should not be just amassing the largest possible number of artifacts and memorabilia but also and mainly for the research and understanding of how, when, why and who invented and produced what and the social impact and consequences that
these products had on the life of millions of people. Collecting should be a way of learning, growing and self improvement and not just a hobby or an investment.
To put this book together I have consulted many sources (all listed in the Bibliography chapter) and I have also drawn from my memories of the time when, in the late fifties and early sixties, I used to deal with Japanese transistor radios in general and Sonys in particular.
I will never forget, in 1957, the excitement of owning my first transistor radio, a yellow Sony TR-63 and the thrill of listening, for the first time in my life, to a source of music and information I could carry around with me (as opposed to the piece of furniture my parents had at home) and the satisfaction of owning and using a piece of the latest technology which made use of this “new” solid state invention called the transistor.
It was a time of learning and discovering but since then I have never looked back and my interest in radio has grown into an obsession requiring a daily dose of information and books like this one to keep my thirst for knowledge satisfied.
I hope this book will be as useful to you as I know it is for me. Thank you for your interest.
P.S. Should you wish to help me in improving this book please let me know of any mistake or any other piece of information you might have. I will try to oblige in the next edition so that everybody can benefit from our collective knowledge.
Enrico Tedeschi