JVC M90 - Gizmo

The JVC RC-M90, released in 1981, is arguably the finest boombox ever made. Four speakers, a built-in mixer, detachable satellite tweeters, and a sound that justified its considerable weight. It became a fixture of early hip-hop culture and remains one of the most sought-after portable stereos ever produced.

This Gizmo print captures the M90's imposing front face - the symmetrical speaker grilles, the central cassette deck, the array of sliders and dials that gave it the look of a professional mixing desk shrunk to portable size. A machine that took music seriously.

Gizmo Series

Gizmo gathers illustrations adapted from and inspired by founder Simon Tyler's forthcoming book Gizmo: Retro-tech We Loved and Lost, published by Laurence King in May 2026.

The series is a visual archaeology of consumer electronics - the machines that shaped how we listened, watched, played, and worked from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Synthesizers that invented entire genres. Cameras that democratised photography. Computers that launched industries from bedroom desks. Boomboxes that soundtracked city blocks. Each one arrived as the future and departed as nostalgia, often within a single decade.

Every illustration begins with extensive photographic research - sourcing original imagery of each machine in its best light - and builds toward a clean, considered portrait that honours the object's design intent. The aim is not retro sentimentality but honest observation: what made these machines distinctive, how they looked when they were new, and why their forms still resonate.

Printed with the same archival care as our other series, Gizmo turns industrial design history into crisp, enduring graphic art.

Printing & Materials

Our Gizmo series is produced in collaboration with specialist fine-art printing partners using museum-grade 250 gsm archival giclée paper.

Each print is made to order with exceptional precision and colour accuracy, using pigment-based inks for long-term stability and rich tonal depth.

Prints are carefully rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in rigid cardboard tubes to ensure they arrive in perfect condition, ready for framing.

All materials and processes are chosen for their longevity, texture, and fidelity to the original artwork, reflecting our commitment to quality and craft.