Y'know, I hadn't considered the "prison model" possibility... interesting thought, but I'm more inclined to think it was a regular-market item and that the clear cabinet was just because that was the "cool thing" at the time; seemed like everything from radios to Nintendo games to office supplies to cola drinks to gasoline had to be offered in some sort of "clear" version. :-/
However, I can't imagine that this TV would have been much less expensive than a low-end 13" color set, so I have no idea who would have bought such a thing..! Certainly never saw one of these in a store...
Back to the late-70's B&W consoles though-- yeah, I'm sure these would have been geared towards the "old timer" crowd, but it's still pretty surprising that there would be any significant market for them. For comparison, here's what the pricing was like for the 1978 Admiral TV lineup according to that catalog.
Those two 22" B&W consoles (identical except for cabinet style) were $299.99 list and had a dealer net of $233.65 for quanity 1 - 5. The least-expensive color console was a 25" model selling for $609.95 list ($494.25 net).
[The catalog does show one lone 23" color console which I assume would have been slightly cheaper, but for whatever reason is not on the dealer price schedule (perhaps it had already been discontinued before the price list was printed? It is labeled as a "revised" price schedule)
So, the B&W console had a list price of just about half that of the cheapest color console. That's a pretty big difference!
BUT! If money was of primary concern, it seems you would have done well to consider these other possibilites that would have also been available from your local Admiral dealer. For example, rather than spend $299 on a 22" B&W console, you could have instead bought their 'deluxe' 19" B&W portable/table TV for $169.95 list ($136.10 net). Granted, it doesn't have the "fancy" (but mostly hardboard with plastic trim) cabinet of the consoles, but it does have an optional matching pedestal base available (price not listed) which would have dressed it up a bit. Especially given that the dealer would have probably more likely to offer a discount on the 19" B&W (which he'd probably already have in stock) than the 22" console (which he'd probably have to special order), we'd be talking about the console costing roughly twice that of the portable, and for not a particularly huge difference in screen size either. Oh, and it appears that they probably have the same chassis too. So, you'd have to *really* *really* want that console cabinet!
Now, if you wanted a color TV without spending the $600+ on a console, Admiral offered 19" table models starting at $399.99 list ($314.55 net, which falls to $307.15 for qty 6+). Granted, that's still more than the price of the 22" B&W consoles, but it's not nearly as big a price jump as it is to go to a 25" color console.
Question is: has anyone ever seen a late-70's B&W set in recent times? As has already been suggested, those must be pretty rare nowadays. I've never seen one turn up at garage sales/estate sales/thrift stores/flea markets, or even left out on the curb for the garbage man. *Somebody* obviously had to have bought these things back then. What happened to them all? Did everyone who bought a B&W console in the late 70's become so embarrassed by their purchase that they carried it directly to the landfill under cover of darkness rather than try to sell or give it away..?
P.S. Colortrakker-- looks like you're an _Oh! Mikey_ fan, eh..?