This really is a beautiful radio featuring understated minimalist design. Obvious highlights include the famous gold Regency logo, the regal gold tuning dial and the sparkling gold speaker grill cloth. Stunning!
The cabinet of the Regency TR-1 was designed by the Chicago firm of Painter Teague and Peteril. They came up with two designs, one with a perforated grill and one with a slotted grill. Ultimately the perforated grill was the accepted design and the plan for a slotted grill was discarded. Prototype TR-1 cases were machined not molded and there is some suggestion that before the slotted grill version was abandoned a machined version was manufactured… Now imagine stumbling across that at a yard sale!
