James Joyce's Paris Radio, 1934: "In a tone Sonora"

James Joyce used a high-quality French-manufactured radio in 1934 that enabled him to listen to Irish, British, continental, and some American stations. He rented a Sonora radio from a Parisian retailer, "Hamm, Facteur de Pianos et Orgues." A hitherto-unremarked series of publicity materials relating to the Sonora Radio Company suggests the material influenced Joyce's perception of radio in the modern world, coalescing with a range of radio references that recur in Finnegans Wake. This essay looks at Joyce's radio listening experiences during the 1930s, highlights the plenitude of radio references in the Wake, suggests that "in a tone sonora" (a Finnegans Wake phrase) can be attributed to Joyce's ownership of a Sonora radio, outlines the early history of the Sonora Company in France and in America, examines the heft of its publicity materials, and briefly looks at Joyce's relationship with his Parisian radio provider.