[bgadow]

I would imagine the date code you see is stamped on the plastic crt cover? That is probably the date the cover (or maybe the set) was made. I say that because the 21FJP22A was not built until the 1960s. (edit: I couldn't see the photos when I wrote this)

The photos of the neck are good-and I don't see anything to indicate breakage. One pin looks a little bent-you just want to be careful with that one so it doesn't break. I think chances are very good that the crt is okay. If you can get ahold of pretty much any old crt tester that is still functioning, you could test it. An easy way to see if it is still under vacuum would be to connect the filament pins to 6v. A lantern battery would work fine for this. If they glow, it is at least a little alive.

The Hoffman is special because they were a relatively small company; they did not have strong national distribution. (I don't think I ever saw one around here) Plus, any color TV from the 50s is pretty rare. The only company that was cranking them out in any quantity back in '56/57 was RCA, and even they are scarce. Companies like Hoffman wanted to offer a color tv, maybe as a matter of pride as much as anything, but engineering one from scratch wasn't easy. Most outfits ended up either buying the makings of a color TV from RCA and putting them together themselves, or they licensed the design and built their own chassis.

You really did do well to find this set. You will not find many folks who have one. Fixed up nice and working, it will be worth a nice amount.