The circuit first appeared in the August 1936 issue of Radio Craft in an article called "The 'Elf'. It was based on yet an earlier circuit published in the October 1935 issue of QST magazine, the only difference being that this earlier circuit used a #49 and a #30 tube.
Eventually the circuit was published (and republished) by a New Zealand electronics company Lamphouse in their Lamphouse Annual. Over time it became known as the "Hiker's One" (for the single tube version) or "Hiker's Two" radio.