Description

This television is housed in a rectangular mahogany case with an 11-inch screen recessed into a rectangular cutout. There are two knobs under the screen (controlling the channels and the volume), and a control panel under a plaque that reads “RCA Victor.” Near the bottom of the receiver, there is a fabric-covered speaker.

RCA introduced the model CT-100, or “Merrill” in April of 1954. It was the company’s first color television, and a pilot run for mass production of color sets in their Bloomington, Indiana facility. With it, RCA hoped to prove that color receivers could be manufactured (and sold) on a large scale. Unfortunately, its high price ($995) and poor picture quality meant that few people bought them.