A HISTORY OF EARLY

Volume I

Selected and with a new introduction by Stephen Herbert

13 Routledge § ^^ Taylor & Francis Group

LONDON AND NEW YORK CONTENTS

VOLUME 1: PART 1 Dreams and Experiments Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1

Fantasies and predictions, and the first proposals for a practical system 13 'The Telectroscope', English Mechanic and World of Science, 31 January 1879 15 'An Electric Telescope', Denis D. Redmond (letter), English Mechanic and World of Science, 7 February 1879 16 'Seeing by Electricity', Scientific American, 5 June 1880 17 "Seeing by Electricity', W.E. Sawyer (letter), Scientific American, 12 June 1880 20 'Conversations for the times - Professor Goaheadison's Latest' (Far-Sight Machine, cartoon and text), Fun, 3 July 1889 21 'Goaheadison's Real Latest' (Far-Touch Machine, cartoon), Fun, 17 July 1889 22 'Le Telephote' (engraving), in Emile Desbeaux, Physique Populaire (: Librarie Marpon et Flammarion, 1891) 24 'Seeing by Telegraph', H. Trueman Wood, in R. Brown, ed., Science for All (London: Cassell, 1894) 26 'The Problem of Television', Scientific American Supplement, 15 June 1907 31 'Distant Electric Vision', A.A. Campbell Swinton, Nature, 18 June 1908 32

VOLUME I: PART 2 , Early Successes Television becomes a reality: the first successful experiments 33 'Distant Electric Vision', The Times Engineering Supplement, 15 November 1911 35 'The Radio Kinema', F.H. Robinson, Kinematograph Weekly, 3 April 1924 38

Letters, John Logie Baird/Will Day 40 Letter I [5 April 1924. Baird to Day] 40 Letter 2 [1 May 1924. Baird to Day] 41 Letter 3 [2 May 1924. Day to Baird] 43 Letter 4 [25 July 1924. Day to Baird] 44 Contents

Letter 5 [28 July 1924. Baird to Day] 45

Letter 6 [6 September 1924. Day to Baird] 47

Selfridge's Circular, 1925 48

Items from M/tare, 1925-27 50 [Selfridge's] piece, 4 April 1925 50 'Electric Television', A.A. Campbell Swinton, 23 October 1926 51 'Television' (editorial), 15 January 1927 52 'Television' (letter, Baird), 29 January 1927 54 'Television', E. Taylor Jones, 18 June 1927 55 Items from Science and Invention, 1928 56 [Cover], November 1928 56 'How to build the S & I television receiver', November 1928 57 'Stereoscopic Television' [and] 'Television Timetable', November 1928 63 'Radio Movies Demonstrated', November 1928 64

VOLUME I: PART 3 Begins Experimental transmissions 68 Practical Television, E.T. Larner (London: Ernest Benn Ltd, 1928) [book, 200pp.] 69

Items from the early years of Television magazine, 1928-34 273 (Cover) and 'Commercial Television - When may we expect it?', March 1928 274 'Seeing Across the Atlantic!', March 1928 275 'Clairvoyant' (cartoon), April 1928 276 'Transatlantic Television' and 'Television in mid-Atlantic', A. J. Dennis, April 1928 277 'Baird Televisors for America First', June 1928 278 'America Leaves Us Behind Again', R. F. Tiltman, June 1928 280 'Seeing Round the World', Shaw Desmond, August 1928 281 'Television and Broadcasting', September 1928 285 'Television and the Films', Shaw Desmond, September 1928 286 'Moving Shadowgraph Experiments in America', September 1928 289 'Television - an Appeal for Broadcasting Facilities', J. Robinson, October 1928 292 'Television in America', R. F. Tiltman, October 1928 296 'Television as "Booster"' [Advertising], Shaw Desmond, September 1928 298 'The Entertainment Value of Television To-day!', R.F. Tiltman, November 1928 302 'My Impressions of Television', Dr Frank Warschauer, November 1928 306 'Impressions and Opinions of a Layman', A.W. Sanders, December 1928 308 'Now This Is Television!', Dr Alfred Gradenwitz, December 1928 309 'The Future of Television', Dr C. Tierney, February 1929 311

VI Contents

'How the "War" ended', March 1929 314 'Mihaly's Tele-Cinema', Dr Alfred Gradenwitz, April 1929 316 'The Postmaster-General's Decision', May 1929 320 'Television Broadcast by the B.B.C, November 1929 321 'Simultaneous Sight and Sound Broadcast', W.C.F., May 1930 323 'The First B.B.C. Play to be Broadcast by Television', July 1930 326 'The Fourteenth of July, 1930', by Lance Sieveking, August 1930 330 'Television in the Cinema', August 1930 333 'How the First Television Play was Received', August 1930 334 'Baird Screen Television. The Coliseum Triumph', September 1930 336 'The Big Screen in Germany', Sydney A. Moseley, November 1930 340 'Seeing the Derby at a Distance', July 1931 342 'Television as an Entertainment', August 1931 344 'B.B.C. and Television, Official Statement of Policy', June 1932 346 'The B.B.C. "First Night"', September 1932 347 'Last Month's Programmes', November 1932 351 'Last Month's Programmes', March 1933 355 'B.B.C. Television Policy, Rumours and Facts', September 1933 359 'News from Abroad', September 1933 360 'News from Abroad', October 1933 362 'News from Abroad', November 1933 363 'News from Abroad', January 1934 366 'The Baird Company's Great Achievement', April 1934 367 'Studio and Screen', August 1934 368 'Television in Japan', September 1934 370 'A Television Service for Germany', December 1934 371

'The Television Machine', in The Modern Handy Book for Boys, Jack Bechdolt (London: Hutchinson & Co., 1934) 373

VOLUME II: PART 4 A New Era (Britain and Europe) Acknowledgements viii Introduction ' 1

High-definition and regular broadcasting worldwide, as seen from Britain 7

Items from Television and Short-Wave World magazine, 1935-39 9 The Television Committee's Report, February 1935 9 'High-Definition Television Service for Germany', April 1935 13 '"Television" from Disc Records', June 1935 14 'The French 60-Line Transmissions', June 1935 15 'Baird Television Makes Progress', July 1935 16 'Marconi-E.M.I. Television', July 1935 17 'The Chronology of Television' and 'The Advisory Committee makes its First Statement', July 1935 18 Contents

'The Present Position of Television', July 1935 22 'The Chronology of Television (Part II)', August 1935 28 'A Demonstration of the Farnsworth System', November 1935 30 'The Alexandra Palace New High-Definition Television Transmitting Station', November 1935 33 'The B.B.C.'s Plans for Television', December 1935 37 ' 180-Line Television from the Eiffel Tower', January 1936 40 'The First Complete Details of the Marconi-E.M.I. Television System', March 1936 42 'Phone and Television', April 1936 48 'Are the Eiffel Tower Transmissions a Failure?' and 'Baird Apparatus for Crystal Palace', May 1936 50 'How the B.B.C. Regards Television', May 1936 52 'The Television Announcer-Hostesses', June 1936 53 'R.C.A. (America) Television Experiments', July 1936 54 'Television Stars of Tomorrow - Who Will They Be?', August 1936 55 'Philo T. Farnsworth on The Future of Television', August 1936 59 'Studio & Screen', August 1936 61 'Television Abroad', September 1936 65 'A Criticism of the Radiolympia Television Programmes', October 1936 67 'The London Television Station', October 1936 70 'The Opening of Britain's First Television Service', December 1936 79 'Scannings and Reflections', December 1936 82 'Studio & Screen', by K..P. Hunt, December 1936 85 'Baird Laboratories Destroyed in Crystal Palace Fire', January 1937 89 'The Controls of a Television Receiver', January 1937 90 'Comment: One Standard of Transmission', March 1937 92 'We Watch a Transmission', March 1937 93 'Television for Hospitals', April 1937 95 'America's Biggest Step in Television', May 1937 96 'The First Real Television "O.B."', June 1937 100 'Television Relays for Modern Flats', July 1937 102 'Baird Colour Television', March 1938 104 'Television Must have News Value!', October 1938 106 'A Visit to the Eiffel Tower Television Station', November 1938 108 'Comment: America Makes a Start', February 1939 109 'Points for Prospective Viewers', June 1939 110 'America Makes a Start', June 1939 112 'My Impressions of American Television', Gerald Cock, August 1939 113 'Facts and Problems for the Cinema', Major C.H. Bell, August 1939 116 'Visit Radiolympia 1939'[Advertisement], September 1939 120 'Television in Germany', A.A. Gulliland, September 1939 121

Book of Practical Television, G.V. Dowding, ed. (London: Amalgamated Press, 1935) 123 Selected Chapters: •• [Title page] Contents

'Chapter 6 Why the pictures move' 125 'Chapter 7 Television transmission' 144 'Chapter 8 A simple television receiver' 162 'Chapter 9 Synchronising a mechanical viewer' 180 'Chapter 10 Mirror drum and other mechanical systems' 192 'Chapter 11 Brightness of television pictures' 219 'Chapter 12 The cathode ray tube' 229 'Chapter 13 The fluorescent screen' 240 'Chapter 14 Cathode ray scanning' 251 'Chapter 21 A guide for television set buyers' 259 'Chapter 22 Television fault-finding' 266 'Chapter 23 Stereoscopic television' 274 'Chapter 24 Television in colours' 285 'Chapter 25 Broadcasting talkie films' 294 'Chapter 26 Ultra short wave transmitters for television' 309

Television Today, Edward Molloy, ed. (London: George Newnes Ltd, 1935) 313 Selections from the partwork: [Cover] 313 'Foreword' \ 315 'The Baird high definition television systems of transmission', H.J. Barton Chappie . 317 'Television studio technique Part. 1', T.M.C. Lance 328 'The Farnsworth electronic television system', Norman W. Maybank 333 'The possibilities of the in television', Dr. V.K. Zworykin and Dr G.A. Morton 339 'The Fernseh-A.G. television systems', Dr. Alfred Gradenwitz 343 'Television studio technique Part II', T.M.C. Lance and J.D. Percy 353 'Television studio technique Part III', T.M.C. Lance and J.D. Percy 360 'Notes on the Loewe television system', Dr. Alfred Gradenwitz 364 'Organising television programmes', H.J. Barton Chappie 368

VOLUME III: PART 5 A New Era Acknowledgements ' vii Introduction 1

High-definition and regular broadcasting in the of America 3 [The Tide of Events] 'Telefilmed Faces', Orrin E. Dunlap Jr, New York Times, 20 September 1936 5 [The Tide of Events] 'Television called answer to song how to keep 'em down on the farm', New York Times, 20 September 1936 6 .'Where is Television Now?', Popular Mechanics, August 1938 8 'RCA's Development of Television', David Sarnoff, typescript in RCA Annual ^Meeting Minutes and Proceedings, 7 April 1936 14

IX Contents

'Statement on Television', David Sarnoff, RCA press release, 7 May 1935 15 'Television in Advertising', David Sarnoff, excerpted from a stencil copy of 'The Message of Radio', addressed to Advertising Federation of America, 29 June 1936 23

Television. Collected addresses and papers on the future of the new art and its recent technical developments, Vols 1-6 (RCA Institute's Technical Press/RCA Review, 1936-46) 27 'Commercial Television - and its needs', Alfred N. Goldsmith 27 'Television and the Electron', Vladimir Kosma Zworykin 39 'Television Studio Technic', Albert W. Protzman . 44

Television - A Struggle for Power, Frank C. Waldrop and Joseph Borkin (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1938) 59 'Television - A Struggle for Power' [Title page] 59 'Chapter 1: Prelude to struggle' 61 'Chapter 2: In the arena' 69 'Chapter 8: Trouble in heaven' 80 'Chapter 12: The somnolent cinema' 91 'Chapter 19: Past is prologue' 101 'Chapter 20: Return of a pioneer' 116 'Chapter 22: Public policy' 126 'Appendix A: Television broadcast stations 1937' 143

Items from New York Times, 1939 147 'History by Television. Bloomingdales' (advertisement), 27 April 1939 147 'Television in store carries hat styles', 27 April 1939 148 'Hear, See, Television. RCA Victor' (advertisement), 28 April 1939 149 'Television. Du Mont' (advertisement), 28 April 1939 150 'Radio Straps on its Camera' (page overview), 30 April 1939 151 'Telecast of President at the World's Fair To Start Wheels of New Industry', Orin E. Dunlap Jr., 30 April 1939 152 'Television Now Drops Mantle of Mystery And Public Becomes Its Judge', 30 April 1939 155

'Probable Influences of Television on Society', David Sarnoff, Journal of Applied Physics, July 1939 157

'We Present Television', John Porterfield and Kay Reynolds, eds (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1940) [book, 298pp.] 163