Postwar Television

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The Glass Eye Invasion —Television Sets Invade the Midcentury Home

A New Book by Steve Kosareff

The Glass Eye Invasion—Television Sets Invade the Midcentury Home dropped earlier this week on Amazon at a special release price (view sample pages at https://a.co/d/hEvLzta). A hardcover library edition will follow from Ingram on May 26. The Glass Eye Invasion is a follow-up and prequel of sorts to my 2005 book, “Window to the Future” which described how manufacturers marketed and sold television sets. The Glass Eye Invasion examines in great detail the arrival of the first sets in American homes during a very short period of time, 1948-53. The book is lushly illustrated with double-page color immersive spreads with original artwork and many never‑before‑published photographs.

 I spent three years researching, writing and designing the book. It begins with a deep dive with the introduction of commercial television sets at the 1939 New York and San Francisco World’s Fairs. I then look at how dealers were educated in preparation for television sales after World War II. One of my favorite postwar stories is the 1947 RCA Television Caravan which crisscrossed the United States with 12 men and women in six Jeep station wagons demonstrating television at 22 United Department stores. Another favorite is the 1950 Television Manufacturers Association’s “There Are Some Things a Son or Daughter Wont’ Tell You!” ad campaign which featured the faces of distraught children whose family didn’t own a television set. Did you know a famous children’s educator’s reputation was almost ruined because of his participation? Did you know Eleanor Roosevelt was forced to take a public stance? The story has as many twists and turns as a whodunit.

 I then revisit the shady television set dealers and repairmen who were lying in wait for an unsuspecting public. Once a family decided to buy a television set from a reputable dealer the biggest concern it faced was where to place it—which doesn’t seem much of a problem today—but when taken into account that homes and families weren’t designed at the time for permanent home theaters it was a major issue.

 I look at all the hoopla that surrounded the introduction of the television set with contest winners; Miss Television contests at fairs and exhibitions; dealer sidewalk “sales;” television set theft and violence (against sets); owners who were concerned their sets were watching them, or worse, receiving signals from outer space; and jockeying by patrons in bars (which owned the first sets) for the best place to view sporting events. Most importantly, I look at how people were concerned that television would impact their families’ lives, especially children’s education.

 Finally I come full circle and back to David Sarnoff—who started it all at the 1939 Fairs—predicting television’s future in my last chapter entitled, “This Is 1965!” I think you’ll find The Glass Eye Invasion—Television Sets Invade the Midcentury Home a fascinating, informative, and entertaining experience.