A hard to find blonde Hallicrafters T505
 

I just did a trade for a rather scarce optional blonde finished 7" 1948 Hallicrafters T505. I like the contrasting dark tone of the front "brow" molding. The design is so Raymond Loewy. Clean, modern lines.

Seven inches? That screen looks awfully small. This television looks to me like it was a reworked oscilloscope. How was anyone supposed to watch a screen that small? I hope the picture wasn't so small as to be nearly unviewable unless the viewer sat within inches of the screen (like today's HD flat screens, which can only be enjoyed in high definition if the viewer is almost in front of the set).

How many of these pitifully small Hallicrafters TVs were sold, and for how long? I can't imagine a single person or two, let alone a family, watching a TV this small and being able to enjoy it. The person would have to sit very close to the screen to see it at all (I don't think anyone worried about X-rays from TVs in those days, although I can imagine eye doctors cringing at the very thought of anyone watching a 5-inch TV while sitting within inches, or any reasonable distance for that matter, of the screen). What must Hallicrafters, which was mainly a radio manufacturer, have been thinking when they came out with the T-505 TV, with its 5-inch(!) screen? :scratch2: Philco's "Predicta" TV, with its larger screen (I think it was perhaps 10 inches, give or take), had the CRT on a cable, in its own enclosure, so that it could be set some distance from the rest of the TV itself. This allowed the set owner to put the main TV cabinet near his or her easy chair, with the picture tube (and its associated circuitry) sitting on a table, stand, etc. some reasonable distance away. I don't know in what year the Predicta was introduced; however, my best guess would be some time in the late '50s. This was, IMO, a huge improvement over the 5-inch Hallicrafters set being discussed here, and things only kept improving as time went on.

You're right on all counts Jeff, but you have to consider that this was 1948. Just seeing a video image in your home was miraculous at this time. People would often watch TV like going to a theater. They would often line chairs in front of the set, especially when a group was watching. TV was too exciting, and limited, at this time to lie back on the couch and fall asleep while watching, so you were up in front of these little screens.
The 10" models were the choice sets, but cost-prohibitive ($400) to many people, so these simple 7" TV's at $179 gave many people the chance to have television. I read period articles that people, even at the time, complained that TV screens were too small. By about 1950-51, with large bargain priced bigger screen TV, they began to sell in huge numbers.
As far as the design of this set, Hallicrafters was known for Ham radios and this first TV offering reflected they're signature look. Raymond Loewy did a good job of melding his clean, modern styling cues with unmistakable Hallicrafters cues. It's a love it or hate design, but, when you're a serious TV collector, one of these is must in your collection. The pushbutton tuning is unusual (with channel 1) and only used on a handful or pre-war and early post-war sets.
Oh, and I must say, as collectors items the small screen TV's have the most style, which is a TV collectors number one draw to them. Because of the small screen, it was the only time that so much attention was put on TV cabinet styling. Form over function. If not for the deep cabinets, from the front they are almost radio-like which is pretty cool. Also, weight and space are of importance, and the 7" models are a fraction of the weight and size of a 10"-15" models. 1951 and later sets were nothing more than a box enveloping a picture tube. Easier to watch, but offer very little eye-candy to the TV collector.

Concern over screen size didn't enter the equation at all. Just seeing television for the first time evoked the same awe as seeing an automobile for the first time, or seeing an airplane for the first time.

The blond wood cabinet version looks nice. I have the leather portable and the metal cabinet version that goes with the period Halicrafters ham shack gear.

The smallest screen predicta I'm aware of is 17".... Comparing a ~1948 Halicrafters 7" to a 1958- ~1961 Philco is sort of like comparing a mid 30s Lincoln to a mid 50s Lincoln....Both were stylish, but time advanced the tech and user experience greatly in the time between the two.

Very true. Back in the '30's and '40's, you were fine with whatever was offered just to have a "theater in your home", as was mentioned in period advertising. Everything changed by the early '50's. Then, with improved programming, the public was very willing to pay more and more for bigger screens.
As far as the Hallicrafters, the Tolex Portable was always considered the rarest version, but I'd easily say it's neck in neck with the blonde version. I've been searching on Google and have found only one other example. The blonde/yellowish oak reminds me of knotty pine dens and kitchens of the '50's.

Beautiful! I have never seen reference to the blonde model before... Loewy did good on those sets! :thmbsp:

jr

Thank you. A friend sold this set to another friend and the whole time I had my eye on it. I don't know when another has come up for sale. I would bet Loewy like the two-tone blonde model the best. I believe it was the only TV the famous stylist was commissioned to design.

Jeff, you must have never heard of a Pilot TV-37. Whopping 3" screen!
http://videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=272320

What about the 1939 RCA Victor TRK-5 console? For style, I love these early tiny screen sets in large cabinets. The bigger the tube is, the plainer and duller the sets are.

I have a as found version of the blond Hallicafters. Yours looks so much better!

Thank you. That makes only the second other example I've seen besides mine. Yes, blonde cabinets are very difficult to find in good original condition. Once they get water stains and bad scrapes, you can't do much with them to freshen them up. That's why I grabbed this one. The interesting thing about them is it's not the usual blonde mahogany veneer. It's oak veneer applied in wide strips, which gives it sort of a rustic look.

Nice! I like that blonde better than my mahogany 505.

Regards,

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

Can't resist!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rNfZxgkH7k