It will always find its place in a museum collection, even if it wasn’t enough to help up the sales at the time.
Sony Miniature, Model 5-303W, with carrying case, 1962
Philco ”Safari” Model H-2010, 1959
This television set was the first to make use of the new transistor technology that had already revolutionized the portable radio. Powered by a 7.5-volt rechargeable battery with a four-hour operating capacity, it employed an optical projection system that magnified the small cathode ray tube image to create and eighty-square-inch virtual image.
Philco Predicta Model 4654 ”Barber Pole”, Television, 1959
In an effort to combat the industry-wide decline in television sales that began in the mid-1950s, Philco decided to exploit recent developments in picture tube and transistor technology. The Predicta line was the most revolutionary of several models introduced at the time. Designed by Catherine Winkler and Richard Whipple, the Predicta treated the screen surface as a ”semi-flat” element largely detached from the body of the set. Because the new tube was unreliable, sales were poor.
Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria, New York
May 13th, 2018
The Humble Fabulist 