So today my wife and I picked up a 1954 Stromberg Carlson TV. Blond wood, everything is there. A tad dirty and seller said it worked when he plugged it in, but picture. The TV is 24" high, 23" wide and 20" deep.

All this for 5 bucks!!!

Anyway I have heard to not plug in antique TV's because there is a chance you can start a fire or something else could go wrong.

What I wanted to find out is how popular were they back in the day?

It is worth restoring? I am not looking for resale, my wife and I are hoping to add it to our mid-century decor.

Did they have a special stand? Seller said it had a metal one, but all the ads I have seen show it as a table top.

I couldn't find a Model number but the serial number is 719826.

Any information would be great!

Sounds like a wonderful purchase, for the low, low price of 5 bucks. If you could post some pictures, that would be great.

If the tv still has the original back, the model number might be hidden inside the set, on the chassis. While it is possible for a set of this vintage to still kind of work, it probably won't for very long. You are right in considering it a possible fire hazard. It will need to be gone over electronically, and probably have all of the old capacitors replaced. Typically, a 50s set costs about 30-50 dollars to be recapped.

As for the stand, the metal one probably was sold with the tv, even if it wasn't make by Stromberg-Carlson. There were lots of aftermarket companies in the 50s that made accessories like tv stands.

Out of the black and white sets, I consider the 50s ones to be very reliable. By then, they had gotten everything "right" electrically, so they are typically stable performers, that could run for years without calling the repairman. Compare that the a tv made only 5 years earlier, where a well-used set could be in the shop a couple times a year.

Ok here are some photos of the TV.

The only numbers I see on the chassis are a Serial # 719826 and a rubber stamped number 5434 2

Can you read anything on that green tag?

Phil Nelson

Stromberg Carlson brochures here:

http://tvhistory.tv/1950-59-STROMBERG-CARLSON.htm

Looks as if that model was carried over to 1955 as well, perhaps it is an X21TE? Nice looking set, looks compact for a 21"
jr

The green tag is a repairman tag.

"something" Television & Radio Repair Service

There is also a wiring diagram inside the TV. It has what seems to be a date on it, 1-13-54.