One of the three "Bullet"s, a 1951 Northern Electric MIDGE Model 5508 5-Tube Radio in Rose Hammertone Finish Bakelite

In a Nutshell
This "bullet" or "jet-wing" design, originally created in 1948 by Farnworth, is one of the most artistic implementations of a radio front's essential features, a dial and a speaker grille - here is the 1951 all-original Canadian version "Midge 5508" by Northern Electric

Introduction:
Here we have one of three known bakelite "Bullet" radios, made by Farnsworth, Northern Electric, and Lifco. The radio was apparently pioneered in 1948 by the famous inventor of television Philo Taylor Farnsworth (models GT-050 and GT-051), followed by Northern Electric's 1951 MIDGE 5508 and 5408, and then by the "Roamer" or "Regal" radio model L-660, made probably in 1952 by Lifco, a Canadian company left over after NE quit making consumer radios in the early 50's. All three radios can be seen at ref.1 below. They differ mainly by their chassis', the Lifco having a modern ferrite antenna instead of the loop antenna, the Farnsworth in addition having nine numbers on their dial instead of seven, the same as a rare variant of the Northern Electric, model 5408 (see pict.17), which I sell in a parallel auction. Farnsworth's cabinet features a gorgeous asymmetric bullet shape, alternatively resembling an airplane wing in a jet-stream. The NE 5508 radio came in plain bakelite, and in mostly hammertone painted blue, white, brown, green, rose and ivory. This radio as does the famous NE rainbow radio craves for being painted (see under artists in the parallel 5408 auction). A custom painted version of the rainbow radio recently sold for 350$ (Item 260091077440), a Farnsworth GT-050 with a red jet-stream for 179$ (Item 140080913257). The radio on auction is the original rose hammertone version. Read about the tragic life of Philo T. Farnsworth below.

Additional information:
1.) All 3 at http://vintagewireless.byethost12.com/articles/samecabinet.html
2.) Documentation at http://www.northernelectric.ca
3.) http://www.farnsworthonbroadway.com/trailer/
4.) http://www.thefarnsworthinvention.com/intro.html

For the historians only:
Philo Taylor Farnsworth (1906-1971) was an ingenious engineer and scientist, who at age 12 built a washing machine for his mother and at age 20 invented television, but ended tragically. He recently got much attention through the drama script "The Farnsworth Invention" from award-winning writer Aaron Sorkin. Rewritten as a stage play, "The Farnsworth Invention", "a classic American tale driven by the conflict between a Mormon farmer and a Russian immigrant over the ownership of the most influential invention of the 20th Century", was debuting two years ago at the La Jolla Playhouse February 20 - March 25, 2007 as "a page to stage production" with Stephen Lang (Gods and Generals, Gettysburg) playing Farnsworth (see the trailer of the more recent Broadway production at ref.3 above, and its critical review at ref.4). Farnsworth in 1939 held practically all TV patents, but was too much an inventor to lose the battle against commercial powerhouse David Sarnoff, president of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). With his patents about to expire, Phil grew depressed, drunk and addicted to painkillers, and in 1949 sold off his company. In 1939 he had taken over the bankrupt Capehart Automatic Phonograph Corporation. Radio production (under both names) for Farnsworth always was a money source to finance his TV (and later Nuclear Fusion) ambitions.
Elma G. (Pem) Farnsworth (born Gardner) was his wife, who died 3 years ago at the age of 98. On July 20, 1969, watching Neil Armstrong stepping off the Lunar Module, Philo turned to Pem and said: "Pem, this has made it all worthwhile".

Here are the specifications:

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