Philco Predicta tabletop television receiver

The Donald Fleming Collection of North American television receivers: Philco 'Predicta' Princess 17" tabletop television receiver, 1959.

A Philco Predicta Princess 17 inch television receiver, made in the United States, 1959.

The Philco Predicta range featured a novel swivel screen. In the Tandem version, the screen could be positioned at the far end of your living room on a 25 foot long umbilical cable with the electronics housed in a box placed next to your armchair where you could easily reach the controls (an idea rendered obsolete with the invention of the TV remote control).

The Predicta Princess has a perforated and finned metal cabinet and is particularly compact and lightweight. It cost $179.95 (USA) when new. A similar model called the Siesta was available with a clock above the tuner that could turn the set on and then off automatically for the duration of that favourite program. The 17 inch Princess, Siesta and Debutante Predictas came in a variety of ‘dramatic’ colours (ivory, brown, red, blue, and gold).