By Ben Rooney @ben_rooney February 3, 2015: 1:36 PM ET
1941: Sound Systems
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RadioShack started out in 1921 selling radio equipment for ships -- a "radio shack" is what sailors called the structure on a boat where the radio was housed.
In the 1940s, the company began selling consumer products including speakers, turntables and amplifiers like the ones pictured above.
The retailer grew into a one-stop-shop for electronics, with thousands of stores across the country. But the market changed faster than RadioShack(RSH) did, and the iconic chain now appears to be headed for bankruptcy.