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Early Color Television in Detroit

This probably won't be of any interest to those outside of Michigan, but I'm posting it anyway for folks like Dave and Dwight.

I took the QLine from my apartment downtown to the Detroit Public Library (main branch on Woodward) yesterday afternoon. I went hunting throught he microfilm newspaper archives. I started with the Detroit Free Press, and managed to get check every Free Press paper from November of 1953 to April of 1955 for any interesting or important references to color television in the Motorcity. A lot of the material is from the Associated Press, UP, etc and would likely have appeared in all of the other major newspapers in the country. Nonetheless, I've included those mentions as well.

I'll be returning soon to check the Detroit News. I'm expecting to find more color TV advertisements and mentions in the Detroit News, as WWJ-TV (Channel 4), the longtime NBC affiliate in Detroit, was owned by the Evening News Association.

The following is not an exhaustive collection of references found as many of them were single sentence blurbs in the business section, but it is fairly representative.

The first article is from November 1, 1953, the last in this post is from January 17, 1954:
https://thumb.ibb.co/mVDN8R/1953_11_1.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/daoN8R/1953_11_1_2.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/b8ctF6/1953_11_4.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/dc7FTR/1953_12_2.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/ihzvTR/1953_12_18.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/nbY0v6/1953_12_19.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/heidhm/1953_12_20.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/hHfPNm/1953_12_21.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/i1afv6/1953_12_21_2.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/nPYdhm/1953_12_22.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/e8UjNm/1953_12_31.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/eoQ28R/1954_01_2.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/dTf8hm/1954_01_8.jpg https://thumb.ibb.co/eVA8hm/1954_01_17.jpg

If you look at the larger version of this ad, you'll note that they have a floor demonstration set available, a color Westinghouse set. Given that the ad is from February of 1957, I'm inclined to believe the set was either an H840CK15, or the lost 890CKU19. Either way, I wish I could go back to 1957 and pony up the $495 for it...

https://preview.ibb.co/g5FoF6/1957_01_17.jpg

wow the price on that motorola color set , 895.00 in 1954, that was a ton of money back then .the average job pay 75.00 to 100.00 a week starting out, i heard that growing up .

I like your third one from 1955 that lists the addresses of dealers with color sets in stock. I'm going to have to go top to bottom and look at all those places on google earth, to see what's left. Probably no TV shops :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpaceAge (Post 3192242)

None of those shops would be in business still. I cleaned out a couple of shops in the Detroit and Flint areas. Managed to get a few B/W jugs and a used but usable 21CYP22 at one shop... Sadly, I think those days are pretty much over.

Quote:

Originally Posted by benman94 (Post 3192246)

Right, I'm interested in what stands at the addresses today. Even is the shop closed years ago, sometimes evidence remains. I know of a building that is now occupied by a liquor store, but still has "Zenith Color Television Showroom" painted on the side, albeit faded. I'm a "youngster" and still just beginning in vintage television, and I have come to accept that I will likely never step foot inside a genuine tv shop.

That one for the Kraft Parkay contest to win a 21" set reminds me of the live Kraft commercials, which had some of the absolutely best color of any early color broadcasts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpaceAge (Post 3192249)

Don't give up too fast....I was in one when it was still operating ~3-4 years ago...They exist, they are few in number and dropping, but they exist.

Quote:

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut (Post 3192259)

That one for the Kraft Parkay contest to win a 21" set reminds me of the live Kraft commercials, which had some of the absolutely best color of any early color broadcasts.

I no longer have an inkling of what the shows were about. But I sure do remember those commercials. Close-ups of bright, saturated color. They must of had a ring of flood lights over the set, just out of camera view. Musta cooked the cheese!

Pete

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete Deksnis (Post 3192266)

Saturation could be brought up a bit on this quad transfer, but there are some vintage "taped" Kraft commercials on this 1959 broadcast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wymn1ZppcPg

I like the Hot "N" Kold dept. store 1957 ads featuring the Westinghouse color sets heavily discounted. I assume these were the 22" rectangular Westy's on close out.

-Steve D.