A close-up detail of a circle located near the top left portion of a voluminous, horizontal mural, showing in muted color and centered on a man, Graham McNamee, standing in front of a microphone next to transmission towers. McNamee was the first sports announcer to do play-by-play reporting for Major League Baseball. Zigzag lines radiate outward from the towers. The inner circle is surrounded by a larger, segmented circle emphasizing sports and spectacles of the early twentieth century. Above McNamee is a referee is flanked by boxers. To the right is a divider with the word 'pageant.' Clockwise to the right is a scene of a crowd behind a medieval banner, facing a pedestal with several waving flags. Another divider states, in opposite directions, the words 'Spectacles' and 'Races.' The next scene near the bottom depicts the America’s Cup yacht races of September 1899. Following dividers annotating 'Yacht' and 'Stratosphere' is a manned stratostat balloon being held by several coat-wearing figures and a crowd in the background. Above the circle in arched arrangement, reads 'Broadcasting News Events.'

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Object Timeline

	We acquired this object.
1934	Work on this object began.
2016	We photographed this object.
2017	We exhibited this object.
2024	You found it!

Mural Detail, The World of Radio, 1934

This is a Mural detail. It was made for Jessica Dragonette. It is dated 1934. Its medium is cotton and its technique is wax resist dyeing (batik) on plain weave.

This segmented circle emphasizes sports and spectacles of the early twentieth century. In the center, Graham McNamee is at the microphone. McNamee was the first sports announcer to do play-by-play reporting for Major League Baseball.
Above, a referee is flanked by boxers. On April 11, 1921, KDKA aired the first ever sports broadcast, reporting the Johnny Ray–Johnny Dundee fight live from ringside. On July 2, 1921, WJY broadcast “the Battle of the Century”—a World Heavyweight Championship bout pitting American Jack Dempsey, the champion, against France’s Georges Carpentier.
At left is a manned stratostat balloon mission. In 1932, Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard and his student Max Cosyns flew a hot-air balloon into the stratosphere, reaching an altitude of 53,153 feet, a new record. In 1933, Piccard brought his stratostat cabin to Chicago’s Century of Progress exhibition, to the awe of American audiences.
The bottom segment depicts the America’s Cup yacht races of September 1899. Guglielmo Marconi astounded the world by transmitting the results of the race from a ship in New York Harbor to a land-based Marconi wireless station located at the offices of the New York Herald.

It is credited Gift of Nicholas Meredith Turner in memory of Jessica Dragonette.

Mural, The World of Radio
cotton.
Gift of Nicholas Meredith Turner in memory of Jessica Dragonette..
1983-73-1

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition The World of Radio.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2FYuqg/
Accession Number s-e-2263
Object ID 1108721983