In the 1950s, owning a television was a symbol of affluence and modernity. Televisions were bulky, black-and-white sets with small screens, often housed in wooden cabinets. They provided a new form of entertainment, with popular shows like I Love Lucy and The Ed Sullivan Show bringing families together to watch TV as a shared experience.
This era also marked the rise of television networks like NBC and CBS, shaping national culture and public opinion. Commercials became a major feature, while television also influenced the “TV generation” of children growing up with it.
Despite being a luxury for many, television quickly became an essential part of daily life, transforming both entertainment and social dynamics. Here is a collection of vintage photos showcasing people with televisions from the 1950s.
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When your 1950s (or 60s) television stopped working, you'd open the back and remove several or more vacuum tubes. You'd take the tubes to a store with a tube tester, and buy new tubes to replace the burnt out ones. The last store based tube tester I saw was around 1970. We went from fixing broken televisions to throwing away broken ones. Of course we only had three television channels when I was a kid, so progress can be good.
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