Madison Moore

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     Rick’s Madison Moore is another diamond of his collection. It’s a large set. The panel is 36” long by 8” high, and the inside cabinet is 10” deep. The UV type tube sockets indicate that the radio was made in about 1925, but the type of IF transformers indicate it was made in 1926. I would estimate that the radio was made in early 1926. It was a high quality and expensive radio for 1926. One of the original UV type tube sockets was replaced early on with a UX type tube socket, but everything else looks 100% original. One of the nice things about this radio is that it has the original owners name engraved on the front panel. This set has some provenance! I don’t think the owner made this set. I think it was made by a professional builder, contracted by the original owner, a Mr. M. W. Gano, Jr.

     Merritt Whitfield Gano, Jr. was born on May 4, 1890 in Denver, Colorado, to Merritt Whitfield Gano and Carrie (Tritch) Gano. Merritt Sr. was a Denver retail merchant and businessman. The Gano’s were a relatively wealthy family and there is no doubt that Merritt, Jr. grew up privileged. Merritt, Jr. studied Mechanical Engineering at St. Paul’s School, Concord, N. H.. Upon graduation at St. Paul’s School, Merritt, Jr. sailed upon the Cunarder Franconia on June 11, 1911 as a saloon class passenger from Boston, USA,  to Queenstown, Fishguard, and Liverpool, England. Merritt, Jr. graduated from Yale University in 1915 (Mechanical Engineering) where he was active on the Socker team and the football squad. Merritt, Jr. married Pauline Weare on August 25, 1915. Pauline’s father, Mr. Charles Ashley Weare, was a famous pioneer of the Alaskan Gold Rush. Three children were born to Merritt, Jr. and Pauline: son Merritt Whitfield Gano, III (1917), son Frank (1918), and daughter Pauline (1928). Merritt, Jr. volunteered for the army during WW1 in July, 1917 and remained there until his discharge in February, 1919. The 1920 Census shows the Merritt W Gano, Jr. residence at 100 Franklin, Denver, Colorado. After the World War, Merritt, Jr. worked as a secretary and general manager for his father’s business, the large Gano-Downs clothing and department store in downtown Denver, Colorado. Being groomed in the merchant business for several years, Merritt W Gano, Jr. and William H Downs took over the Gano-Downs business from their fathers in 1926. This is about the same time that Merritt, Jr. purchased the Madison Moore superheterodyne. Merritt, Jr.’s life becomes a little obscure at this point. Though the stock market crash of 1929 did not close the Gano-Downs department store, it must have has some effect, because Merritt, Jr. and William H Downs resigned from the business in 1937. Merritt, Jr. has record of at least three patents: # 2,086,025 dated July 6, 1937 (a means for closing automobile doors), # 2,289,644 dated July 14, 1942 (a visor for automobiles), and # 2,331,545 dated October 12, 1943 (a means for making hats and the like perspiration proof). Merritt Whitfield Gano, Jr. passed away at the age of 68 on July 24, 1958

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     Photograph of the Gano-Downs department store decorated for the 1925 Christmas season. Photo taken November 27, 1925.

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     The Gano-Downs logo copied from a 1922 newspaper advertisement.

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     2020 Google street view of the Merritt W Gano, Jr. residence at 100 Franklin, Denver, Colorado.

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     Photograph of Merritt W Gano, Jr, from the Yale University yearbook. A 1917 military registration record lists him as having brown hair and light blue eyes.

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