Back when TVs were something that you hid, in 1952


I've always been impressed by TVs, going back to when I was a kid. To me, they represented wealth, proudly displayed. My grandmother, for example, had a gorgeous huge color TV in her house in the 1970s. Before that, I have to look at old photos to see what TVs were like, like the one I just found on the Duke University site "Ad Access". And there was a time when a TV was something that was hidden, even a really nice TV - as a piece of furniture.

This ad, from 1952, shows a very impressive, and expensive (for 1952!) state-of-the-art TV. It had an "aluminized mirror" for blacker blacks and whiter whites (yes, TVs were originally only in black-and-white). And here's what it would look like when you weren't watching it, if maybe you had guests over:


Yes, it's genuine mahogany, but it really doesn't show off that you own a very cool TV. I've visited people who have designed their living room around gigantic screen TVs that show off wealth, the same way that they might park their Ferrari out in front of their mansion.


This was the GE Ultra Vision TV! Greater power, clearer picture, less glare ...than any TV tested nationwide! And you were supposed to hide it as an ordinary piece of furniture.


Images from the Duke University Library Digital Collections.
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