[Jeffhs]

I had a Philco "Briefcase 19" portable TV in the '70s (trash find), almost like the Seventeener being discussed except for the slightly larger screen. Mine had a white plastic front, green cabinet, 19-inch CRT, and worked great the short time I had it; in fact, the set became my daily watcher in 1973 when my Silvertone color set went West (video PCB cracked). My Philco wasn't in the best shape, either, when I found it. Worked well enough, but the built-in antennas were missing. This was probably the only portable TV I've ever seen with the rabbit ears built into the set's carrying handle, which turned 90 degrees in both directions. That was such a great idea, IMO, that I'm surprised other manufacturers didn't pick up on it, unless Philco secured an ironclad patent on the design. That is, every portable TV I've ever owned has been equipped with a built-in VHF antenna (in fact, all portables these days have at least a monopole antenna for VHF, a trend that may end next February when TV goes 100-percent digital), but the Seventeener and the Briefcase 19's handle-mounted rabbit ears were very unique designs. My best guess as to why this wasn't used by other manufacturers (if Philco didn't have a patent on it, of course) is that the mechanism used for the rotating handle may have been very expensive to make when the set was new in 1961, a cost that would have been tacked on to the sales price of the set.