1920s Technology: Gadgets, Computers And Tech Trends

The wireless arrives in the front room and the whole country listens at once.

Below: the gadgets in ordinary 1920s homes, what computing looked like at the time, what changed across the decade, and the details anyone who was there will remember.

Useful for a reminiscence session, a quiz round, or working out what someone grew up using.

Years covered in the 1920s

• 1920 - The first Remembrance at the Cenotaph and a country still counting its losses. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1920
• 1921 - A miners' lockout, mass unemployment and the first British Legion poppy appeal. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1921
• 1922 - The BBC's first broadcast, the Austin Seven and Tutankhamun's tomb. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1922
• 1923 - The White Horse Final at Wembley and the first Radio Times. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1923
• 1924 - The first Labour government, the Empire Exhibition and the Chariots of Fire Olympics. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1924
• 1925 - The Charleston, the return to the gold standard and a summer of dance halls. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1925
• 1926 - The General Strike, the birth of Elizabeth II and Baird's public television demonstration. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1926
• 1927 - The BBC became a corporation, talking pictures arrived and the FA Cup went to Wales. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1927
• 1928 - Votes for all women, penicillin discovered and the Thames flood. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1928
• 1929 - Britain's first talkie, a second Labour government and the Wall Street Crash. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1929
• That is every 1920s year we have written up so far: 1920 to 1929.

Gadgets of the 1920s

• Crystal sets with headphones, then valve wireless sets with a loudspeaker.
• The BBC begins daily broadcasting in 1922 - a licence was needed to listen.
• Wind-up gramophones playing shellac 78s, three minutes a side.
• Electric irons, kettles and vacuum cleaners in homes that had the wiring.
• Box cameras - the Kodak Brownie was already a household name.

Computers in the 1920s

• No computers at all - calculation meant mechanical adding machines and comptometers.
• Offices ran on typewriters, carbon paper and card indexes.
• The word computer still meant a person who did sums for a living.
• Telephone exchanges were mostly manual, with an operator connecting the call.

Tech trends of the 1920s

• Electricity reaching more homes, though millions still had gas lamps.
• The National Grid is authorised in 1926 and starts standardising supply.
• Broadcasting turning listening into something the whole family did together.
• The first television experiments - John Logie Baird demonstrates in 1926.

What people remember

• The accumulator battery taken to the shop to be recharged.
• Sitting round a wireless set in silence because talking spoiled it.
• Changing the gramophone needle every few plays.
• A telephone in the house being remarkable rather than normal.

How to use this

• Reminiscence: ask what the first one they owned was, and what it cost - the price always gets a reaction.
• Quiz round: read a gadget and ask for the decade.
• Themed party: an old wireless or gramophone on a table does more than any decoration.
• Present: a print of the machine they learned on lands better than a generic card.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Prices are the best prompt - work out what a gadget cost in a week's wages and the room goes quiet.
• Ask what broke and how it was fixed; repairs get better stories than purchases.
• Check the dates before using these in a quiz - launch year and the year it reached most homes are rarely the same.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1920
• Look back to 1921
• Look back to 1922
• Look back to 1923
• Look back to 1924
• Look back to 1925
• Look back to 1926
• Look back to 1927
• Look back to 1928
• Look back to 1929
• 1920s calendar: year by year
• 1920s trivia: fun facts
• 1920s holidays and travel
• 1920s food and recipes
• 1920s music: albums, artists and songs
• 1920s fashion: clothes, hair and accessories
• 1920s books, films and TV
• The 1920s: the whole decade
• Victorian and vintage parlour games
• Village fete and church hall games
• Card games your nan taught you
• Traditional British party games
• Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade tech: gadgets and computers by era
• Decade travel: destinations and holidays by era
• Decade recipes: dishes and food trends by era
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Guess the year quiz
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What gadgets did people have in the 1920s?

Crystal sets with headphones, then valve wireless sets with a loudspeaker. The full list above covers the equipment found in ordinary homes that decade.

What were computers like in the 1920s?

No computers at all - calculation meant mechanical adding machines and comptometers. The computing section above covers the machines and how they were used.

What were the big tech trends of the 1920s?

Electricity reaching more homes, though millions still had gas lamps. The trends section above lists what changed across the decade.

Do you sell technology or retro gadgets?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a quiz or a care-home session.