Superhets were pretty rare in the 1920s. All kinds of wacky and wonderful forms of tuning and amplification were used in that era of radio (as someone below mentioned, to avoid RCA patent infringement), and of course the aesthetics of the machines were top notch. Collected them for a while myself, though you rapidly run out of room for such hobbies.
Here's some eye candy for folks who are interested in the aesthetics of the era:
Here's some eye candy for folks who are interested in the aesthetics of the era:
https://www.radioblvd.com/20sRadio.html