GOODS & SERVICES: New Ideas, Jun. 29, 1953

GOODS & SERVICES

Hi-Fi. In Chicago, Magnavox Co. showed off a mass-produced, high-fidelity phonograph with four speakers. Capable of reproducing sounds up to 12,000 cycles (twice the range of most mass-produced sets), Magnasonic has a three-speed record changer and an eight-tube amplifier-preamplifier mounted in a mahogany console cabinet. Price: about $200.

Salmon-Skin Leather. Shoes, handbags, wallets and belts made of salmon skins will go on sale in Manhattan shoe stores this fall. Tanned by a process developed by Tidewater Laboratories, of Bellingham, Wash., salmon-skin leather looks much like cobra skin, is seven times as strong as good calfskin, and can be bleached and dyed any color.

Room Service. For the price of two telegrams, plus 50¢, Western Union will reserve hotel rooms for travelers in any U.S. city, confirm them by wire.

Express Collection. A new ground-air transit service begun by Armored Carrier Corp. will speed up the clearing of checks between distant banks, cut down clearance time between New York and California banks from a week or more to one day. Carried by commercial airliners, check consignments will be picked up and delivered by armored truck.

Stubborn Sterilizer. A new germicide that will keep surgical instruments sterile for months has been put on sale by Chicago's U.S. Movidyne Corp. Odorless, tasteless and colorless, a few drops of movidyne inside a canteen or food container will sterilize its contents for several weeks, despite repeated refillings and daily washing. Price: $9.70 a qt.