Sixty years ago today, the July 17, 1964 issue of Life Magazine carried this ad showing the 19-inch offerings of Admiral TV. Shown are the Catalina (P9750 Series), the Spectator (P9640 Series) and Futura (P9430 Series) models. All featured all-channel tuning (channels 2-83) and private listening earphones. The Catalina and Spectator featured timers to turn the set on or off at a pre-set time. All were “portable,” in that they could be moved from one place to another by one person. But they spent most of their time in the same place, near an electrical outlet of course.

The set I watched as a child resembled the “Catalina,” although ours didn’t have the timer or the earphone.