From the first notions of 'seeing by electricity' in 1878, through the
period of the first demonstration of rudimentary television in 1926 and
up to 1940, when war brought the advance of the technology to a
temporary halt, the development of television gathered about it a
tremendous history. Following the discovery of the photo-conductive
effect, numerous schemes for television were suggested but it was in the
wake of Baird's early demonstrations that real industrial interest
developed and the pace of progress increased. Much research and
development work was undertaken in the UK, the US, Germany and France.
By 1936 television technology had advanced to the point where high
definition broadcasting was realistic.
This meticulous and deeply researched book presents a balanced and
thorough international history of television from 1878 to 1940,
considering the factors - technical, commercial and social - that
influenced and led to the establishment of public services in many
countries. Highly illustrated throughout, this is a major book in the
study of history of science, technology and media.