I got this radio from the original owner! He is Ralph Mann, of rural Ireland, Indiana. He was 87 years old, in 1997, when he answered my classified ad. He said this radio was shipped to him from Parmak (Parker McGrory, in Kansas City, MO) in 1935. Ralph had it stored in the original box, with the original packing inserts. Except for one damaged spot, the wood finish is still almost as smooth as glass. Ralph said "I ran that radio off my windmill." Ralph told me that the radio ran on six volts DC. After restoring the electronics, the radio works when connected to my benchtop six volt DC power supply.
Here's the original box in which the radio was shipped to Ralph, at his farm, "in 1935":
Another radio, closely related to this Parmak, is a VERY similar-looking Parmak
console that I found in an Antique shop in Washington, Indiana. It appears to
be the same radio internally, but in a console size, with almost identical styling.
Go see the Parmak Wood Battery-Powered Console.
I also noticed, in paging through "Machine Age to Jet Age II - Radiomanias's Guide to
Tabletop Radios 1930-1959 (with market values)", by Mark V. Stein, that the TRAV-LER model 703
is nearly identical to my Parmak. The TRAV-LER model 703 is listed there as "circa 1937". I like
that book, because it has a picture of EVERY radio that's listed.