Did RCA ever run ads for the 621TS or 721TS?

The only RCA ads I have found for the immediate postwar years are like the following from 1947, which advertise RCA TV technology rather than products per se:

http://antiqueradio.org/art/RCA630TSAdvertisement02.jpg
http://antiqueradio.org/art/RCA630TSAdvertisement03.jpg

Perhaps there are things I haven't seen. These were found just by flipping through old National Geographic mags.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

There's a 1946 RCA ad from Life Magazine on the ETF site, it has what may be the only print ad ever for the 621TS, and it's only a small corner of the larger ad.

http://www.earlytelevision.org/rca_621.html

Here's a copy of the whole ad (which I just bought on eBay)

Do you happen to know the date of that Life issue?

I guess all of the RCA ads from those years are technology ads. The TVs themselves are just shown in little insets with no model numbers or pricing. I found one from 1946 showing a projection TV:

http://books.google.com/books?id=9kgEAA ... &q&f=false

I wonder if any dealers ran ads in local newspapers (in NYC, say)? You'd think somebody, somewhere must have advertised these products. Or, maybe not.

Phil Nelson

I have that same ad myself. It's the only one I could find with a 621ts on it. I like the idea of having some print material hanging above each set in my collection and that one takes care of two sets at the same time . Something interesting to note about that ad, it goes against what I've heard from others about the 630ts and it's two different safety glass clip positions. "Conventional Wisdom" states that the single clip in the top center of the safety glass is an earlier set and the two smaller clips on the sides of the top are the later sets. This ad seems to contradict that as it has the 621ts on it so it's a pretty early run.

The ad's frpm the December 30, 1946 issue of Life Magazine.

There are tons of this issue on eBay in various conditions.

I have seen ads for the 621/630 sets in trade journals (like Radio News) and in newspapers published in 1947. They usually had the prices (iirc, $350 and $450). Sometimes, the price for installation was separate (about $50).

The RCA 630 and 621 were the the first TVs that Consumers Reports examined in the May 1947 issue. It lists the prices in New York as $425 and $295, which included installation.

In the July 1949 issue of Consumers Research Bulletin, the following summary was made:
"The best receivers of the non-projecting type seem to be those made by RCA, DuMont and Philco. Farnsworth offered a receiver with a special circuit providing a high degree of automatic volume control so that in switching in one station to the other did not require adjustment. This is a good feature, but is not considered worth very much extra cost. In actual viewing. A certain amount of adjustment of the picture-tube controls is required to suit the individual."

" Of projection receivers, the RCA system appeared to be superior to the others examined."

"The brilliance level of all television receiving systems is too low. This is very noticable in comparison to the ordinary 16mm movie sytem."

In the February 1948 issue of Consumers' Research Bulletin, they note:
"In the very near future there will be a number of television receivers available at very much lower prices than any 'standard-make' receivers hitherto offered. Several manufacturers are bringing out sets of simplified (transformerless) design at prices around $185. These may represent an expected and long-delayed step toward popularization of television sets for the average man's home."

It's interesting to see how the development of tv was seen at the time. I was impressed how accurate their predictions were and how technically correct their assessments were. Who can fail to be impressed when they use words like "hitherto".

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Ron

I haven't seen any ads for those models, but I did recently purchase a dealer literature book with a nice embossed cover that contained flyers for those two sets (among others).

Pretty obvious from what's on screen that RCA knew even back then that sex sells!

A seven-inch screen for "the living room", with "the whole neighborhood" on their way over to visit... Those were the days!

Those are wonderful.

Jim, would you mind if I used those 621TS and 721TS images in my 721TCS article? I need a couple of pics comparing the two models.

Regards,

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

Please, Phil, use them with my blessings.

For all you and your website have done to benefit our hobby, it is a pleasure to help you when I can.

Thanks from all of us!

Jim

Thanks for posting all of these ads guys! That era was before my time and it gives a person a sense of history they didn't teach in school.

Thanks, Jim.

Phil Nelson

Yes, indeed! I bought my 621TS locally at a yard sale conducted by the daughter of it's original owner. Growing up in Brooklyn, NY, she remembered going to Macy's department store in Manhattan with her father to buy the set. He was a radio repair man and figured the best way to "learn television" was to get one. She said after he installed it in their living room, the whole neighborhood would invariably come over to watch it since they were the first family in their area to have a TV. She subsequently married, moved to the Utica area with her husband, and eventually inherited the set which she kept stored in her basement for many years.

Here it is "as found"



Then I pulled the chassis and found this.



Dave

Great ads, Jim. Is it OK if we put them on the ETF site?

Yes, Steve. Check my PM to you.

I updated the article to include those pages, which offer a nice comparison between 621 and 721.

http://antiqueradio.org/RCA721TCSTelevision.htm

Thanks again, Jim.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

You're welcome, Phil, and thanks for the credit on your website!

Thanks, Jim. They are now on our 621 and 721 pages.

You're welcome, Steve.

You also deserve a round of thanks from all of us for the great work you do in preserving TV history through the Early Television Foundation and Museum and all of your personal efforts.

Sharing my resources with selfless people like you and Phil allows me to contribute something back in return for so much that I have learned and enjoyed from your sharing your interests with us.