1948 Firestone Televisions

[azbigsam]

My Grandfather owned a Firestone store in Nyssa, Oregon from the late 1940's to the late 1970's. Below is a picture from inside the store. The picture isn't dated but I'm guessing its from the early 50's or so. Looking online it looks like there were 4 models for 1948. I've only seen pictures of one type of set (7" wooden tabletop). I guess there was also a 7" portable, 10" tabletop, and 10" console. Does anyone here have any one of these other sets? I would be interested in seeing some pictures of the other models. The tvhistory site didn't have pictures of any of the Firestone models.

Thanks

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by azbigsam

The picture isn't dated but I'm guessing its from the early 50's or so.

Don't know about the TVs, but the electric ranges in the foreground look a lot like a Bendix range my parents got around 1950, when they built their house. We still have the deep frier aluminum pot (in the back left of the range tops). We still use this pot to boil the spaghetti, we just set it atop a normal burner on a modern range we got a few years ago.



Post over in "antique radio" as someone there might recognize the radios.

Nice picture. We had a Firestone store in our town until about 1980. Those are Firestone brand appliances and the picture is probably from right around 1950. Here is a magazine ad for them: http://books.google.com/books?id=Bkw...0radio&f=false

Their radios were known as Air Chief. The two smaller radios in the middle are models 4-A-78 (Brown) and 4-A-79 (White) and I think are kind of rare. It looks like a battery portable to the left of them, maybe a 4-C-16. Here are some websites to help you id them:

http://airchiefradios.com/viewmodel.cfm?idnum=141

http://www.radioatticarchives.com/archive.htm?page=f3

Stewart-Warner, Sparton, and Detrola made a lot of their radios over the years. I think Sparton also made tv's for them too.

[Eric H]

The 7" set was a basically a Tele-Tone Model 149, I had one briefly I bought for parts, it was ruined from being out in the weather so I just saved what I could and junked the cabinet.

I know they had a 10" model that was similar to the Tele-Tone, I suspect it was made with the same 721 clone chassis used in that Porthole you have.

[Electronic M]

The table top radio-phono looks like a 48 or 49 Philco I've seen for sale a few times in my travels.

[bgadow]

I just sold one of those Philcos, looked just like the one pictured. I've seen print ads for Firestone from the 60s and they prominently features Philco products; not sure if they sold them that early as a rule.

I know where a 21" table model Firestone TV is, unless somebody has tampered with it---sitting on a junkpile in the woods. I found it there some 25 years ago and would have toted it home just for fun, but it was probably a mile walk.

[Steve K]

I have the 1948 Firestone catalog. The stove on the lower left is pictured in it for $189.50. It also shows the wringer washers. The radios in the catalog do not match the ones in the picture so as stated earlier the picture is probably a bit newer.

Steve

[azbigsam]

After some more searching online I found this 7" portable model. I also found images from the cover of photofacts for both 10" models but no pictures of the actual sets. They must of sold very few of these models. The 10" tabletop looks very similar to the Tele-Tone TV249 which was a 1949 model. So it looks like Tele-Tone made them first for Firestone before they put their own name on them the following year.

Looking closer at the photo it looks like next to the radios is a little grand piano radio. Also next to that are two little white phones. I've never seen phones like that. Anybody familiar with them. They almost look smaller than standard phones.

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

[Steve K]

Those telephones were little one tube portable radios.

[TV-collector]

Great picture, these kind of pictures are rare find today.
If you should have shown me this picture about 45 years ago,
I should have asked you for the little cars in the rear!
My parents will pay!

Best regards,

TV-Collector