View Full Version : Blonde 721TS?


decojoe67
01-21-2013, 09:42 PM
I had clipped a small picture out of ARC years ago from an auction that shows what looks very much to be a blonde wood RCA 721TS. Original advertising and collectors alike say that, strangly, the 721TS was NOT offered in blonde. Has anyone ever seen or heard of one? The one in the auction could have possibly been a poor light refinish.
Joe

earlyfilm
01-22-2013, 09:30 PM
I had clipped a small picture out of ARC years ago from an auction that shows what looks very much to be a blonde wood RCA 721TS. Original advertising and collectors alike say that, strangly, the 721TS was NOT offered in blonde. Has anyone ever seen or heard of one? The one in the auction could have possibly been a poor light refinish.
Joe

Joe,
I was hoping someone else would answer this first, as I had wondered about this myself.

I do know that RCA only listed one replacement knob color for the 721 TS & TCS. Most RCA blondes or distressed mahogany sets, from that era, called for a different knob color from the walnut and mahogany sets.

Back then, RCA did not do a complete model change ever year, but tended to release one model at a time and then carry them as long as they sold well.

The 721 was introduced in 1947 and continued into 1948. Advertisements from both years indicated that they were offered in walnut and mahogany. Their 721 mahogany was much more blondish than the color that we think of today as mahogany.

My 721 waiting-to-be restored and my parts set are both still in their original finish and their color is a slightly greenish-tan. The color surviving in light-protected areas matches the visible colors. This color is close to how you would expect pre-WWII oak furniture to look. It is similar to and slightly lighter than the early oak Edison phonographs! The 721s I have are definitely mahogany wood stained this unusual color.

The 721 TS set at the ETF
http://www.earlytelevision.org/rca_721.html
is darker and more red than mine. I'm not sure if it is walnut or mahogany. When I was last there, I did not remember to look.

Their 721 TCS floor floor model
http://www.earlytelevision.org/rca_721tcs.html
seems to be refinished, by the lack of visible grain.

With this evidence, I'd have to guess that these sets were not made in blonde, and possibly someone mistook the oak-colored mahogany for "blonde".

Unless someone turns up a true natural blonde in the original finish . . . . .

James

decojoe67
01-23-2013, 04:37 AM
Joe,
I was hoping someone else would answer this first, as I had wondered about this myself.

I do know that RCA only listed one replacement knob color for the 721 TS & TCS. Most RCA blondes or distressed mahogany sets, from that era, called for a different knob color from the walnut and mahogany sets.

Back then, RCA did not do a complete model change ever year, but tended to release one model at a time and then carry them as long as they sold well.

The 721 was introduced in 1947 and continued into 1948. Advertisements from both years indicated that they were offered in walnut and mahogany. Their 721 mahogany was much more blondish than the color that we think of today as mahogany.

My 721 waiting-to-be restored and my parts set are both still in their original finish and their color is a slightly greenish-tan. The color surviving in light-protected areas matches the visible colors. This color is close to how you would expect pre-WWII oak furniture to look. It is similar to and slightly lighter than the early oak Edison phonographs! The 721s I have are definitely mahogany wood stained this unusual color.

The 721 TS set at the ETF
http://www.earlytelevision.org/rca_721.html
is darker and more red than mine. I'm not sure if it is walnut or mahogany. When I was last there, I did not remember to look.

Their 721 TCS floor floor model
http://www.earlytelevision.org/rca_721tcs.html
seems to be refinished, by the lack of visible grain.

With this evidence, I'd have to guess that these sets were not made in blonde, and possibly someone mistook the oak-colored mahogany for "blonde".

Unless someone turns up a true natural blonde in the original finish . . . . .

James

Thanks for all the info. James.
You'd swear the picture of that set in the clipping was a blonde set. Even though it's b/w, it has a definate blonde look to it, not just a standard light finish. I had sent a copy of the clip to a member or ARF and he couldn't explain it. It looked blonde to him too! If only the knobs had been painted the light beige color like on the other blonde sets it would have been an easy to pin down.