Yesterday, my mother and I went to the Canton Trade Days. Most everyone from Texas and neighboring states are aware of this popular flea market... known to be one of the largest in the country. This was my first time to go, and it was quite an experience! Even though we were there all day, I was unable to cover the entire grounds. From what I understand, many folks go and stay the entire weekend as I've heard it's the only way you can see everything they have to offer.
I learned the hard way... if you see something and want it, get it right then! I found a Remington 870 I wanted, and decided to come back later as I was really on a hunt for televisions. Later, it took me at least a half-hour to find that same booth again, and naturally the 12 gauge was gone.
During my walk-thru, I found 4 televisions. Here's what I saw...
First was a Moto... roughly 1955, and very similar to the '59 Moto table set I have... except for the knobs all being across the bottom. It was in nice shape, but it was the first one I found and I wanted to walk around some more.
Second, I found a mid-late 50's Zenith portable metal table set. Those are pretty common. It was originally turquois, which would have been a neat find, but someone had brush-painted it with that antique-looking finish and I decided to keep going.
Third was a 1950-ish Zenith circle set combo. This one had the larger crt in it. The cabinet was in nice shape, and the guy wanted 50 bucks for it. Unfortunately, the center of the screen had the big round spot where the phosphor had been blown off as the air rushed in. I don't know if the neck had been broken... didn't bother to look. I've always wanted one of those, but decided against it due to the CRT being toast.
Lastly, I found a 21" Moto in a bakelite cabinet. It was in decent shape and looked complete. The lady told me she had plugged it in and got some snow on the screen. Now, I don't know if she was telling the truth or not, but I told her she was very brave for doing so. I thought it was rather large for a bakelite cabinet, and decided to get it. It was marked 65, and she let me take it for 50.
Today, I gave it a quick look-over. The model number was too faded to see, but the chassis is a TS-501C. Looking at info on the TV History site, the model would be a 21T3 or 21T4 from 1953. The CRT has been replaced... it has a metal/glass RCA 21MP4 date coded 5917. My B&K 470 shows emissions to be well up into the green... I was glad to discover that! The insides look like they need a good cleaning. I get a feeling that I've picked a good one.
