Television History - The First 75 Years
 
 

What Things Cost in 1947:
Car: $1,500
Gasoline: 23 cents/gal
House: $13,000
Bread: 12 cents/loaf
Milk: 80 cents/gal
Postage Stamp: 3 cents
Stock Market: 181
Average Annual Salary: $3,500
Minimum Wage: 40 cents per hour

            (94K)
1947 Ford Ad

(65K)
1940s Typical Auto Interior
 

1947 Baird Large-Screen Direct-View Television Set!
 

 (96K file size)

(134K) - Read the story behind this amazing one-of-a-kind British television set, as told in the March 1948 issue of the "The Journal of the Television Society", from London, England.

(328K) -  Continuation of story about the design & manufacturing of this enormous picture tube.

Quick Facts:

• About 44,000 TV sets in the US, vs 40 million radios.
  

• May 7th -- Kraft Television Theatre starts on NBC, becoming the first commercial TV dramatic series.
  

• September 13 -- Kodak and NBC develop " kinescopes ", which are the use of a special film camera to shoot directly off a TV screen.  This permits the recording and later distribution of live shows for sale, or archiving.

  (72K)
  RCA Kinephoto - Kinescope Equipment (early 1950s)

  ---

  
  

• September 30 -- First telecast of a World Series game.  NY Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers.
  

• October 5th -- Harry Truman becomes the first president to make an address to the public on TV from the White House.  He discusses the international food crisis, proposing meatless Tuesdays.
  

• November 6th -- Meet the Press premieres on NBC's local Washington station.  Went network on Nov 20th.
  

• December 29th -- Howdy Doody Time begins its first broadcast on NBC.                   
  

(20K)
1947 DuMont - Model RA-103 - Chatham (Called the "Dog-House" by collectors)

[Pre-1935]    [1935-1941]    [World War-II]    [return to 1946-1949]    [1950-1959]    [1960-2000]    [FAQ]