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.