Sentinel 430 restoration

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by cwmoser

Well I be darn. Did not know.
Never heard of a TV lamp.
Even not knowing, they are still visually appealing.
I guess this shows that some designs are timeless.

TV lamps were used to provide a soft light on top of the set so that the room in which the set was located wasn't totally dark when the TV set was on, per recommendations by eye doctors of the time (1950s) discouraging watching television in pitch darkness. IIRC, my folks had one of these TV lamps on top of our first set; it was in the shape of a horse, with a little 7-watt Christmas tree bulb in the base.

Some of the fancier TV lamps even included a digital clock in the base. One manufacturer of these lamps (don't recall whom right now) had a TV lamp that was actually shaped like a miniature television, with the clock in the center of the "screen" and the lamp arranged so that it illuminated the area around that screen and the clock as well. The clock mechanisms were motor-driven digital clocks made by well-known companies such as Pennwood Numechron, the same folks who brought us the first motor-driven electric digital clocks.

I wouldn't be surprised if we eventually see a comeback of these TV lamp clocks, with updated designs, including LED clocks, of course. The diffuser could be in the shape of a current TV actor or prop from a popular show, and the lamp bulb would probably be an energy-saving LED or other low-power light source.