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The
late 1950s in Britain were the period symbolised by Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan's slogan: "never had it so good". There
was near-full employment, inflation was low, and industrial relations
hadn't descended to the depths later experienced in the '70s. Macmillan
went on to win a resounding victory in the general election of 1959.
Britain seemed to have recovered from the war, memories of the Suez
debacle were receding, and the country was marching forward confidently
into the '60s.
The
big news from Bush in 1959 were the so-called instantuneous
'Bush Buttons' These were the first Bush television sets to have
tunable pushbuttons, replacing earlier turret tuners for easier
and more instant channel changing. There were two BBC and two ITA
buttons provided to make the set future-proof and remember - this
was long before the advent of BBC2 or Channel 4 ! Priced at
£53 1s 9d plus purchase tax, the TV85 continued with Bush's
tradition of solidly constructed sets. On the technical side there
was a 'flywheel' line timebase, for better stability under weak
or noisy reception conditions. This year, the sets were to remain
box-like in shape. Soon, more 'slimline' set shapes and wide angle
deflection tubes would take over.
Today,
the Bush TV85 remains well thought of. Now over 50 years old, many
of the original Mullard tubes can still deliver brilliant, sharp
pictures and the set will be ideal to receive the new 405-line transmissions
from British Heritage Television when they start. So settle back
now with your family and enjoy...
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