Born Povilas Glamzo, January 18, 1875, Rokiskis, Imperial Russia (present-day Lithuania).
Died January 1943, Scarsdale, New York.
After serving as an engineer in the Russo-Japanese War, Glamzo escaped from Imperial Russia and brought his family to New York City in 1906. This is the story covered in Escape From the Czar.
After arriving in Brooklyn, Glamzo quickly found work to support his family at the American Metal Stamping Company. While the family lived in the overcrowded Brooklyn tenements, Glamzo began working for Mr. Silver at the American Metal Stamping Factory at 135 Grand Street, New York, NY.
Glamzo always had an entrepreneurial flair and made several attempts to market various inventions that met practical needs like the Bathers Purse (Bathers Purse Patent US1314392A, 1919) and the White House Lemon Server (shown at right). Though these products were not successful, he continued to tinker and innovate.
Glamzo saw the profit potential of radio and founded the American Radio Hardware Company (ARHC or ARHCO) in 1922. The business manufactured and sold radio parts, including three-circuit tuning coils, Bakelike panels, and components essential for building radio receivers, such as 5-tube Hazeltine Neutrodyne circuits.
From the 1940 catalog: “18 SUCCESSFUL YEARS of diligent service to jobbers and manufacturers – catering to each particular requirement – careful study of every stock and special order – your problem solved with our experimentation and results.
Our Motto: Guaranteed Quality – Lowest Prices – Prompt ARHC Service – Satisfied Customers”
In 1937, ARHCO was one of several companies that the United States Army Signal Corps commissioned to manufacture J-38 keys (pictured at right). The USASC used them to learn and send Morse code, which proved essential to the war effort.
This ARHC ad in Electronics (Feb 1944) shows a rendering of the main office and plant located at 152-4 MacQuestern Parkway South, Mount Vernon, New York, near the Harlem line of the Metro-North Railroad.
From the ad copy: “We are not jobbers. We actually create and manufacture, working in steel, in brass, in plastics…punching, drilling, fitting micrometrically… piercing together under one roof the myriad accessories known as RADIO PARTS and HARDWARE.”
Note: “Jobber” is a contemporary word for “wholesaler” or “distributor,” a merchant selling products made by other entities.
