The United States Television Manufacturing Corporation, also known informally as U.S. Television Manufacturing, and in some advertisements as UST, was an American television manufacturing and distribution company known for its early large-screen television sets, intended for use in bars and other public spaces. The company existed from 1945 to 1950.
History
The United States Television Manufacturing Corporation was founded in 1945 in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York City, to produce large-screen television sets and, later, conventional models. In April the following year, it announced an
initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...
of 99,000 shares of 50-cent
par value
Par value, in finance and accounting, means stated value or face value. From this come the expressions at par (at the par value), over par (over par value) and under par (under par value).
Bonds
A bond selling at par is priced at 100% of face valu ...
common stock
Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other Comm ...
at US$3 each. The
Guaranty Trust Company of New York
J.P. Morgan & Co. is a commercial and investment banking institution founded by J. P. Morgan in 1871. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company is now a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banking institutions in t ...
was appointed registrar.
Headed by president Hamilton Hoge, with his brother John Otis Hoge as vice president, U.S. Television Manufacturing aimed its initial product at taverns, clubs, fraternal organizations and similar business consumers, reasoning that with parts and materials remaining in short supply following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the company needed to sell fewer but higher-priced units.
On September 18, 1946, U.S. Television Manufacturing held a public demonstration of large-screen
rear-projection television
Rear-projection television (RPTV) is a type of large-screen television display technology. Until approximately 2006, most of the relatively affordable consumer large screen TVs up to used rear-projection technology. A variation is a video proje ...
, with sets at
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
s including
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the business. It became a div ...
and
Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, and
Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus, commonly shortened to A&S, was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, it became part of Federated Department Stores in 1929. Shortly after Federated's 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Company ...
in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Joe Louis- Tami Maurielloheavyweight boxing championship at
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...
in
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. The company said it had already begun delivering sets to customers.
By July 1947, the company was producing 300 units a month of its initial model, it said, which were distributed by dealers in 13 states and the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
. It announced plans to produce a taller model with a 475-square-inch screen and AM- FM radio reception, to sell for US$1,995 excluding installation charges, and two home-consumer models: one with a "10-inch direct-viewcathode-ray tube (CRT) screen, giving a 54-square-inch image", plus AM-FM radio and phonograph, for US$895; and a rear-projection TV with the same features but a 390-square-inch image, for US$2,275. The direct-view model's price was reduced to US$745 in November 1947.
In March the following year, the large-screen projection-TV set increased in priced to US$2,495, with the company announcing shipment to distributors in 15 cities within two to three weeks and plans to produce 50 to 75 sets monthly. The company also announced plans to market a television set for theaters and auditoriums, with a variable screen size of 9 x 12 feet to 12 x 16 feet, for US$3,495. By October 1948, the company was marketing what it called two "improved" models with 475- and 675-square-inch screens.
Additionally, by January 1948, the company was producing a tabletop model with a 10-inch screen giving a picture size of nearly 9 by 7 inches. By November, U.S. Television Manufacturing Corp. subsidiary Zetka Television Tubes, Inc., of
Clifton, New Jersey
Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area. As ...
, was manufacturing 12- and 15-inch CRTs, with glass blanks supplied by
Corning Glass Works
Corning Incorporated is an American multinational technology company that specializes in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scientific applications. The co ...
.
In December 1948, the company dropped prices, citing increased supplies of 15-inch glass CRTs. The home console with radio and phonograph was now US$1,095, and table models $695 and $325.
Among its advertising and promotional efforts, the company said in August 1947 that it would launch a direct-mail campaign to 41,000 tavern-owners nationwide, via the advertising agency Huber-Hoge & Sons. In January the following year, it announced that the same agency would launch a $250,000 print-ad campaign for its tabletop sets, emphasizing quality over price.
Following the public company's 1950 report on earnings, registering a loss, no further reports were issued.
Products
Each line of television includes built-in radio and phonograph."New UST 5 in 1 Console Joins World's Fast Growing Television Family" (advertisement), via
;Projection TV set
*Tavern Tele-Symphonic (includes at least models T508, T521, T525, T530), US$1,995
*Tele-Symphonic, US$2,275
*Tele-Symphonic Modern, US$2,275
;Direct-view TV sets
*Telesonic (available in modern and period cabinetry), US$895
;Radio-phonographs
*Dumbarton, US$239
Model numbers
*T502, T507, T508, T521, T525, T530, T621, T10823Schematics, via
Key personnel
*Hamilton Hoge, president
*John Otis Hoge, vice president (died November 18, 1953, age 44)
*Ira T. Kitzmiller, controller; formerly with
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
for 14 years
*A.D. Heller, chief engineer, followed by
*Antony Wright, chief engineer; former manager of TV-engineering section of RCA
*Irving Mageff, project engineer
*K. Blair Benson, senior engineer
*William H. Higgins, sales manager
*Philip Goldberg, distributor,
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
*Kenneth Golden, distributor,
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
Other
* Rumsey Electric Company, distributor,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, Pennsylvania.
* Domestic Heating and Equipment Corp., distributor,
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Ohio
Headquarters
A December 1945 advertisement seeking a senior engineer for the company listed an address of 106 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, New York City. By July 1947, the company's office was located at 1 West 61st Street in Manhattan. An advertisement from this time gives a company address of 3 West 61st Street.
Earnings and revenue
The company reported a net loss of US$98,000 for the first six months of 1946. For the same period of 1947, it posted an estimated net profit of US$188,355 after taxes and after utilizing one-half of the company's 1946 tax loss of US$176,707. The half-year net profit represented 59 cents each on 319,000 common shares.
For full-year 1947, the company reported net sales of US$1,907,874, resulting in a net loss of US$132,686. In 1948, U.S Television Manufacturing Corp. turned a net profit of US$27,035, representing 4¢ each on 341,475 common shares. The following year, the company reported a loss os US$195,094.