It was on a visit to London in the late 1990s that Sydney dentist Peter Sheridan spotted a bright green bakelite radio in a jewellery shop.

"I thought it was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen," he recalls.

The radio was a 1937 American-made Emerson produced during the golden age of radio broadcasting – a time when radio provided cheap entertainment for families struggling in the depression years.

Mr Sheridan was fascinated with the style and beauty of the radio's design.

The purchase of the Emerson was be the start of what would become arguably one of the world's best collections of art deco radios.

"From a design point of view they are spectacular," he said.

An Emerson Patriot AD16 features in the 300-piece collection. ( Supplied: Peter Sheridan )

"In the 1930s everyone wanted a radio. The manufacturers are seeing a huge future and you've got these industrial designers in the United States - it's a fledgling profession and these guys are completely unknown.

"They've all come from different fields - theatre design, architecture, set design, furniture design, and they've all started to try and sell themselves as industrial designers. But the only thing that's selling in the early 1930s is radios."

An AWA Fret and Foot radio. ( Supplied: Peter Sheridan )

The end result was a revolution in the design world as the coloured portable bakelite radios replaced the heavy wooden radio console.

"The mantel radio changed the listener from the family to the individual," he said.

"The moment they started selling these coloured radios, specifically targeting women, you suddenly see the ability of the individual to choose their own programs."

Mr Sheridan now has more than 300 radios beautifully displayed in his apartment in Sydney.

He hopes his radios will find a public home in the future and has knocked back offers from people like the Sheikh of Qatar to buy the collection.

He has just published a photographic display of his radios in his book Deco Radio: The Most Beautiful Radios Ever Made in which he pays homage to the radios he describes as important icons in the history of art deco and industrial design.

"The book reflects my appreciation of this revolution in design," he said.

With most of the available wall space in his apartment taken up with his beautiful radios it seems his collection may be complete.

"It's not the biggest [collection] but it’s the best," he said.