by I wasn’t sure I wanted to visit the Early Television Museum in Hillard, Ohio (about 13 miles northwest of Columbus).
I mean, it’s just going to be a collection of some old televisions no one wants any more, right? And their website looks like it was created at the dawn of the internet.
But Doug was not on the fence, so off we went.
However, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a television that dates circa my grandparents’ living room, and it wound up being a bit of a hoot. You walk through many chronologically arranged rooms, and can’t help but marvel at the distance technology has traveled.
The museum has more than 150 sets (though it seemed like much more) in the following categories:
- mechanical TVs from the 1920s and 1930s
- pre-World War II British sets from 1936 to 1939
- pre-war American sets from 1939 to 1941
- post-war American, British, French and German sets from 1945 to 1960
- early color sets from 1953 to 1957
The collection is – no surprise here – the largest in the United States. There was also a collection of early television cathode ray tubes and early television studio equipment. An audio tour enhanced the experience, as did many of the old advertisements accompanying the displays.
The museum was founded by Steve McVoy, who had worked in a television repair shop as a teenager. After he sold his cable business and was poking around for something to do, he started collecting and restoring old sets. Eventually he ran out of space for his collection, and the idea for the museum was born. The museum opened in 2001, and has 6,000 square feet of display space.
The cover photo is a 1948 General Electric set. It has a 10-inch screen and built-in radio.
