Memorabilia Trade Shop Signs

More trade shop signs and promotions for the museum come workshop from the 70s & 80s; Granada TV rentals, JVC BoomBox promotion for the RC-M60. Have you seen the prices of the player!? I had thought about getting one to put at the base of the stand, not at those eye watering figures. Finally, a LaserVision promotion around 1978/79, for the release of JAWS on Laserdisc.

One interesting little twist - I might just have the JVC radio cassette recorder to go with that promotional cardboard sign!

Hi Marion, well if you have, you've hit the jackpot. Just look up JVC RC-M60 on eBay and you see what folk are asking for them.

Jeezes priced! - I can't be 100% sure, but from memory it's either the same, or very, very similar. I'll have to make an exploratory visit to my secret hideaway one day, and check it out.

I'll have owned it for a good 20, or 25 years, and like so many other similar radio/cassette machines in my possession, was a save from the recycling yard in town. Probably cost me £3, as so many of these things did back then, and in any case, wouldn't have cost more than a fiver!

Posted by: @katie-bush

Jeezes priced!

I know... I thought it was just one crazed spanner chancing it, but no, they rally are sought after. I had planned, like you thought, to have one at the foot of the advert, that idea was soon quashed.

Posted by: @crustytv

I had planned, like you thought, to have one at the foot of the advert, that idea was soon quashed.

Well, if mine is one of these, we might have to see what we can do about that. I have no plans on leaving any of my vintage TV and radio collection to any family members, nor to anyone who has no appreciation for what they are. - Everything will be exclusively released to the collection/restoration fraternity - The collection, test gear, tools and parts, in short everything I own that relates to vintage TV, radio and audio.

I'm not averse to a little bit of horse trading in the meantime.

At the moment, my JVC 'whatever it maybe' is stored away in a safe, dry, 1974 vintage touring caravan, but I'm not very likely to visit that part of the collection again until Spring.

I also have an assortment of Hitachi, Panasonic, Aiwa and other makes of the same/similar age - some of which are also in the sought after category, though I never expected those kinds of prices. Last time I 'price tagged' one of my Hitachi 'boom boxes', I don't know the model number, but it has a lot of desirable features like AMSS, FeO, CrO2 and Metal Tape, Dolby NR, and lord know what else. It was touching £70 to £80 - They now tickle the low hundreds too! I just wish I had more of them.

Another trade sign joins the “CrustyTV Museum”.

As always the case, I spent an excellent hour in the company of Mr Rediffusion himself, aka @malcscott. Happy to see Malc in fine fettle after his eye op, which I guess now has become routine, quite remarkable when you think about what they do.

Malc kindly donated one of his Rediffusion Escort estate, rear panel signs. Bottom left there was a corner cracked off, thankfully Malc still had the piece. So once home, I set about effecting a repair. Happy to say, it worked and is practically invisible, unless you go looking. Once in place, you'd be hard-pressed to spot the join.

It looks wonderful, many thanks to Malc, you're a gent.

Trade sign representation in the museum now covers, the following:- Large illuminated signs; Thorn/Ferguson, Grundig, Granada, Reditune. Large non-illuminated, Granada, Telefusion, Rediffusion, Philips & JVC. Small signs; Ferranti, Dynatron & GEC.

You've reminded me that I really should make an effort to find the photograph I have of my pre-war neon 'Bush' sign and get new tubes made for it after they were destroyed in an accident in the storage units. 

Another original shop sign added to the Museum.

I already have a large overhead Thorn Ferguson sign, but when this NOS smaller version became available, I just had to snap it up. The clincher being it had never been used, still in its original bag! Finally, it gets to serve its purpose after 40+ years in the dark.

Of course I assume you've got low-heat LEDs fitted 

Nope, as supplied 15W pygmy in the small and fluorescent in the large

Posted by: @crustytv

Nope, as supplied 15W pygmy in the small and fluorescent in the large

Watch the heat! 

Another couple of trade shop signs sourced, this time just the perspex, no light boxes.

I lashed together a temporary box with offcuts of ply I had lying about for the Bush. It's not ideal but will suffice, until suitable wood can be found. I've run out of hanging space in the main showroom, so I mounted the Bush above the inspection bench in the store room. Not often you find Bush signs from the 70s. It also came with a Sony.

I don't think even I have Bush signs from that late - mine are early 30s to late 50s.

@crustytv 

Were the Bush Arena hifi item imports from Scandinavia? We sold a few of them and the sign brings back some memories.

I've no idea Frank, I've often wondered what the 'Arena' identity was all about, I assumed just some sort of marketing ploy. There's not a lot of info out there on later Bush, I've had a devil of a job finding brochures of this period, in fact I've not managed to obtain a single one.

I do have a 1976 Bush 'Arena' BC6738A (T20A) in the collection, it looks like 'Arena' was not just limited to Hi-Fi.

Perhaps Mr Bush (aka Mike) will have an answer to the 'Arena' origins.

Arena were indeed a Scandinavian company - I have a very neat and compact Arena tuner/amplifier and a relative of mine had a Bush Arena system which, I recall, sounded very impressive indeed - in fact yesterday I was outbid on a Bush Arena turntable, a Garrard AP76. I know at one time post-WW2 Bush exported to Scandinavia as I have a circuit blueprint for a set that lists specific mods for that country but beyond that, I have no knowledge. I know Bush did try its hand at hi-fi as I have a deck and amplifier that just pre- dates the Bush Arena era. 

I had a Bush-Arena stereo system in 1977, I still have and use the matching speakers which I think were made by Wharfedale? All three companies were of course owned by Rank Radio International.

Another promotional ex TV Trade sign acquired for the museum. Pretty rare this one, it's for the Salora range of continental sets. This now sits nicely atop the equally rare 22" 1F4.

@crustytv 
I didn’t see any Salora TV’s, in fact not many Continental sets. The odd Grundig and the 110degree ITT chassis is about it. Long forgotten what they looked like inside.

You probably have more promotional signs than many shops had.