Pye B18T table model television receiver

This Pye B18T tabletop television set was launched on the market in 1948 when Pye were one of the UK's leading television manufacturers. It was the first television set which did not have a mains transformer attached, making it lighter, smaller and much safer to operate and setting the standard for televisions to follow. It’s dark-wooden casing, fluted edges and 9-inch screen are characteristic of the 1940s. Tabletop models first emerged in the 1940s because of the shortage of wood in post-war Britain. The paraffin-filled magnifier attached to the front enlarged the picture for the viewer. The television was presented to London resident Mr Phillip Hanscomb in 1949 and kept by his daughter after he died. When it was presented to him, Alexandra Palace, broadcasting to the London area, was home to the only television transmitter in the country. Many families bought their first television set to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952. By the early 1950s there were over 4 million sets in Britain.