Philco

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Philco Corporation began in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1892, first as the Spencer Company and then as Helios Electric Company, making carbon-arc lamps. Reorganized as the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company in 1906, it supplied batteries for electric vehicles and, soon enough, the battery-hungry early radio age. “Philco” appeared as a trademark in 1919 and became part of the official corporate name in 1940.

From its long-running Philadelphia headquarters at the C and Tioga Streets complex, Philco became a household fixture. Its 1925 Socket Power battery eliminator let radios run from the wall outlet—an early victory over acid, recharging, and household clutter. Philco entered radio-set manufacturing in 1927, rose to the top of the U.S. radio market by 1930, and later turned out televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, laundry equipment, and other chrome-trimmed promises of tomorrow.

It was not just a living-room brand. Philco developed computing and communications equipment and worked on military and space projects, including the Courier communications satellite and missile-related systems. The company’s consumer-friendly face had a laboratory coat underneath.

Ford Motor Company acquired Philco on December 11, 1961. The business was later called Philco-Ford beginning in 1966; Ford sold major non-automotive operations to GTE in 1974. The old independent Philadelphia corporation was gone, but the name remained unusually stubborn—exactly the kind of corporate afterlife we appreciate.

Our Philco collection celebrates the cathedral-radio curves, atomic-age appliances, space-race circuitry, and unapologetically optimistic engineering of a Philadelphia original. For anyone who believes a console TV should occupy real estate like a confident piece of furniture.