The television counts among a handful of designs that most dramatically changed 20th-century society. As this illustrated poster by Reddit user CaptnChristiana visualizes, the design has evolved mightily since the boxy retro contraptions of yesteryear, like the Emyvisor and the Marconi. With flatscreens and high-definition displays that can seem crisper and more colorful than reality itself, 21st-century viewers are comparatively spoiled.
Soon, this primitive technology evolved into commercially available home TV sets, accessible, at first, only as fancy toys for the wealthy. Designers knew how revolutionary television would be, and advertisers milked the technology’s novelty in ways that may now seem kitschy and dated: as the 1936 Cossor Television was advertised in a brochure: “Radio–its thrills, its interests, increased one hundred fold by Television. . . . Radio is blind no longer. The most exciting running commentary is made immeasurably more thrilling when you can SEE too!” The Cossor came in a walnut cabinet of sorts, its screen hidden by doors when not in use–a design feature that was largely retired in later designs, as were round screens, seen in 1949’s Raytheon TV, and the built-in legs seen on sets in the ’50s and ’60s.
Aesthetic Sceneries 