Televisions remain an ever-present feature in the home and hotel room, but just like viewing habits, designs have changed enormously, and the TV sets below are a nice reminder of just how dramatic those changes have been. Taken over the space of 10 years or so, they were all shot in a variety of abandoned buildings, and while some are clearly more modern than others, all of them hark back to an era when millions of people sat, at set times, to watch specific programmes.
Ron Ouwerkerk says
That was awesome. I really liked the picture with the tv in the snow (not sure why, but it appealed to me) and the two tv’s stacked on each other – “can’t make up my mind what to watch”. Thanks for these photos!
Lee says
Thank you, and you are very welcome. It was interesting to go back and look at the photos. Some I had in mind before I started putting together a selection, but quite a few others I had completely forgotten about. The TV in the snow was one of the latter, and so was a very nice surprise.
Uwe Land says
The brain washers out of its work!
Great!
Coli says
Lovely set of photos! It’s amazing how all of these TVs have a sense of personality to them. Some seem rather sweet and subtle, and others a little sinister in their manner.
Lee says
Cheers! Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. Modern TVs are great, but they are rather generic as far as design goes. These though are all unique, and like you said, full of personality. All those lovely dials too!
Richard says
I am old enough to remember having to stand up and walk over to the TV in order to change the channel, adjust the volume, etc. Those large ones in a console were considered to be furniture. Color TV’s did not become common until the mid-late 1960’s. Until then everything was in black and white!
This series was a ‘walk down memory lane.’ Thanks!!
Lee says
The good old days eh? In the UK there weren’t many channels to change, so remote controllers weren’t such a big deal anyway!
You are very welcome. It was interesting putting them together. A walk down memory lane in several ways.
Matthias says
I would love to put up these wonderful photographs at my workplace.. which is a TV station.
Lee says
Definitely a nice reminder of how things were eh? Any of the station’s old sets in the basement?
Matthias says
No old Tellys anywhere, unfortunately. The last tube sets were replaced ten years ago. Very interesting were the last generation sets,
that were HighDefinition but with tubes! They made TV look like 3D. They had that depth. But now it’s all flatscreen and slimline…
No more baroque designs as in your pictures. That is why we’re thankful for you sharing them…!
cdilla says
Depth and weight. The first HD TV I bought was a CRT and it had the footprint of a bathtub and weighed as much as a standard large sack of pig iron. When I was lifting it onto a low TV unit I had my phone close by just incase it rolled over on me and pinned me down 🙂 They were very front heavy.
Matthias says
A behemoth I owned was a Loewe CRT Widescreen set – not HD, but 16:9. Also very sharp and deep but weighing a ton.
And it felt like occupying a quarter of my living room although the screen was quite small… I never replaced it once it flew out.
Lee says
The HD with tubes sound as good as they were heavy. Setting them up must have been physically tough, but they must have been a joy to watch.
cdilla says
I love this collection of your photographs. The old telephones, TVs and other consumer electronics really appeal to me. If I had the space I would have more of this sort of thing myself. As it is I’m limited to a 5″ Crown portable and an amazing 2″ Sony Watchman – both of which I have to broadcast my own signal to to watch. There is something about CRTs. The second to last in this collection is the one that catches my eye most. Those carry handle slots. Just right to lift and take away for a rescue job 🙂
Lee says
Cheers. Same here, it’s always a treat to see old TVs and phones in particular left behind. The living room phone and television combo would have been my favourite rescues, but getting them halfway down a mountain and then into a small car would have been a job and a half to say the least!
cdilla says
Indeed. I’d probably also want to do an onsite fumigation beforehand.
But it’s all dreaming. It just wouldn’t do to invoke the wrath of the Haikyo spirits by actually removing anything 🙂
Lee says
Yes, things are best left where they are on both counts!
Once an Expat says
Did either of those whiskey bottles still have whiskey in them?
Lee says
If I remember correctly, they did. Or at least I presume it was whiskey…
Sean says
These are very cool. Gotta love those old designs! 🙂
Lee says
Yes, definitely. The tech inside might not be desirable anymore, but designs back then were something special.
GiapponeTVB says
Omg! It’s amazing!
Lee says
Thank you!
1Slyphantom says
This is the big difference in culture between the USA and Japan, here in the US as soon as someone abandoned those TVs they would have been taken and converted by the local pawn shop into $$$ if not destroyed. The Japanese have the respect and not taking what isn’t yours, it seems almost strange (or at least smashing to bits after spray painting it with illegible shit as a substitute to pissing on it to mark it as being someone else’s that you want to know you were the one that destroyed it), what gets me is how I have come to just accept our way as normal.
Lee says
It is amazing what’s left untouched sometimes. That said, these were mostly found in the middle of nowhere, so not places people would find easily. And in the past, I have found plenty of locations that have been smashed up and spray painted. But on the whole, yes there’s definitely a lot more respect for things that belong (or indeed belonged) to others, although experience-wise I can only really compare it to the UK.
Murtaza says
What a price of these TV I have a one pice