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1935-1941 Advertising
This area shows the advertising for pre-war electronic sets. In
America, there was no public advertising for the sale of sets until 1939. Most
often this material was in the trade magazines of the day. In early 1939, with the
hopes of a national American launch of television, print ads appeared in the New
York Times, and upscale magazines like Fortune and Esquire.
Click here
to see examples of early British Advertising
Click here to see examples
of Italian Advertising
1939
(144K)
(180K)
RCA Dealer Brochure - Models TT-5, TRK-5, TRK-9, TRK-12
(93K)
1939 GE Advertising (shows Model HM-226) - "LOOK POP, IT'S A
HOMER!" - December '39 Fortune Magazine
Also see the 1939 GE Sales Brochure
(144K).  (60K)
1939 Body by Fisher advert clearly shows the
1939 RCA TRK-12 television
in operation. Interesting to note the the by-line is Telecasting
Tomorrow -- Today. Commercial advertising had not yet been approved
by the FCC, so this shows what automotive advertising would look like in
the near future! These Fortune ads are quite large, measuring
11" x 14", and do not fit on the average size scanner bed.
June of 1939 -- Esquire "The Magazine for Men"
(Very upscale American magazine which advertises the latest in gadgets, fashion,
automobiles, clothing, jewelry, travel, etc.) Announces the arrival of
"Television" to the USA. Includes a full page advertisement from RCA, for
the TRK-12 television set. A partial scan of a Chrysler auto ad is also shown
below --- for a price comparison. Buying a deluxe large screen (12") 1939 TV was the same price as a
new car! (About $1000). Small screen (5") TV kits
(you build yourself) could be purchased from about $80 (no cabinet, tubes cost
$55 extra). Factory made 5-inch sets were $190 or more
(with finished wooden cabinet).
(285KB)
(221KB)
(112KB)
(106K)
1939 Phillip Morris cigarette advertising which shows an RCA TRK-12 television
at the top of the page. (Courtesy Steve Dichter)
Here are three newspaper ads, released at the time TV was introduced at the 1939 New York
World's Fair:
(79K)
1939 Andrea Ad - New York Sun Newspaper --
(62K) - 1939 KT-E-5 Andrea Kit Assembled - One of seven
known (Steve McVoy collection)
(58K)
Click here
to see the assembly manual for the Andrea television set.
(263K) - Large file
March 1939 Andrea - New York Times - Bloomingdale's
(148K)
(172K bytes)
May 1939 - Popular Science Camel cigarette ad with a pre-war TV set!
(252K bytes) - May 1939 Allied Radio ad - includes TV kits
(100K)
(376K) - Full ad, High
resolution!
1939 Du Mont Ad - New York Times - Bloomingdale's
1939 Du Mont -- Model 183 -- 14" Television --
38-1/4" High x 21" Wide x 25-3/4" Deep -- Five known to exist - (Steve
McVoy collection) -- (37K)
1939 WESTINGHOUSE BROCHURE
(52K)
See close-up scans of this
brochure
A few examples of hobbyist magazine articles and
advertising in February 1939:
(149K)
Feb 1939 Radio & Television Magazine - Earliest advert for Andrea Kit
(83K)
(12K)
Feb 1939 Radio & Television Magazine - Dr. W.R.G. Baker
sitting in front of the 1938 prototype GE model GM-295.
(112K)
Feb 1939 Radio & Television Magazine - Baird 16" CRT TV at
Midland School, KC - Looks like a 30" tube being stuffed in a
16" cabinet!
Sears and Roebuck Pre-war Television Little
known to the general public was that fact that good 'ole Sears and Roebuck, in a
bold marketing move, obtained several dozen 1939 RCA television sets (a few of
each model), had the cabinets slightly modified, removed the RCA markings and
placed a tiny "Silvertone" label on these sets. They were
offered for sale in 1940 to ?, based on scant information from various
collectors. Sears' company historians have no records or
documentation. Only two sets (a TT-5 and TRK-12 variant) have been
positively verified to exist today --> refer to Steve McVoy's pre-war
database
 This September 1939 leaflet titled: What
About Television? mentions that Sears "WILL HAVE" television sets
available. SEARS
Radio Ad
(207K)
(171K)
(202K)
(204K)
(57K)
1939 Du Mont -- Dealer Sales Brochure
(30K) Click here
to see inside this brochure! Here is the
front cover of an original 1939 Du Mont dealer sales brochure. Always
wanting to be little different and unusual, Du Mont laid the graphics out at a
45 degree angle, so you had to twist the brochure sideways to read it! The
interior pages were in standard format.
1940
Majestic (Click to see more)
(35K)
1941 Advertising - None found to date.
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(106K)
(58K)
