MB POTW: Selling Hardware and Software in 1930

The Times-Picayune, December 12, 1930

We hear all the "new media gurus" talking about companies that both sell hardware and provide content. This is not a new idea! Maison Blanche was doing this as early as the 1920s. Here's an ad for the MB "Radio Department" at the Canal Street store. And why did you need such a nice radio? To listen to WSMB, of course! Notice the call letters of the station. The "S" was for Saenger, as in the Saenger Theater, and the MB was the department store.