Radio-Craft is the grandfather of modern electronics magazines, first published in July, 1929.  The publisher and original editor was Hugo Gernsback, who at the time was already a pioneer in magazine publication.  His Modern Electrics was an early technical magazine for the radio experimenter, first published in 1908.  The April, 1911 issue of Modern Electrics included the first installment of a Gernsback science fiction story, Ralph 124C 41+: Thrilling Adventures in the Year 2660.  The immense success of that story inspired Gernsback to start the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, in April, 1926.  Science Fiction's highest honor, the Hugo Award, is named for Gernsback.

The early years of Radio-Craft were aimed at radio servicemen, technically oriented radio owners, and hobbyists who built their own radio equipment.  You may be familiar with the later years of this magazine after the title had been changed to Radio-Electronics.

Until the end of 1930 Radio-Craft covers featured "Men Who Made Radio" and each issue included a matching article on the cover subject.  This, the fourth issue, depicts Lee DeForest holding his best-known invention, the Audion (vacuum-tube triode) which made amplification of signals, and thus radio as we know it, possible.

In 1931 Radio-Craft abandoned the "Men Who Made Radio" covers in favor of illustrations of other types of articles.  The artwork was generally realistic, but was sometimes fanciful, as in this case.  The cover story showed how to trick out a house with electronically enhanced spooky effects, such as the treasure-bearing figure in a closet shown surprising party guests on the cover.

By the mid-1930s many pages in radio magazines were being devoted to The Next Big Thing in radio - television.  Some issues were largely devoted to the new medium.  This issue included an explanation of interlaced scanning and a comparison of the electronic and mechanical scanning systems.  One article revealed that the high start-up costs for broadcasters and the initial high prices for receivers would delay the widespread arrival of TV.

Some articles projecting future applications of radio seem almost comical in hindsight.  Such is the case with this cover story.  It described the first telephone booth trailer which could be towed to sports events, fairs and other large public gatherings.  The author envisioned the addition of radio systems to such a trailer so that the telephones in it would not need to be connected to the wired telephone network.  We do indeed use radio waves to carry telephone conversations at public gatherings, but fortunately we don't need trailers to transport our wireless telephones.

In March, 1939 Radio-Craft began using photographs on the cover instead of artwork.  A frequent subject was the use of electronics by the European Allies before the entry of the United States into World War II.  Here a BBC correspondent is shown broadcasting in front of still-smouldering ruins after a German air raid on London.  After Pearl Harbor war photographs dominated the cover.