Sparton Mirror-Lid TV (1949)

Feeling ultimately modest about your electronics? You can’t beat this 1949 Sparton Mirror-Lid TV from 1949. Very Deco, and very understated, but have you ever seen a TV set on which you’re looking at a reflection of a vertically-mounted picture tube? An echo of pre-WWII television design; mounting the picture tube vertically allows the cabinet to have a very shallow profile, and not stick out very far from the wall.

The sound on this set is just amazing, too. Large speaker with a powerful amp really fills the entire room; absolutely wonderful for listening to original artists sing their top Doo Wop hits from a cassette of PBS’s Doo-Wop 51, as we were today! The picture is so clear and sharp you have to see it to believe it. On display at Midway Antique Mall.