[TELEVISION] Kersta, Noran E. Chronological Record and Index of Television Activities. June, 1935. 11x8", offset process, from the Library of Congress. 37 leaves. Brass gathers in a manila folder chipped at the corners and a bit of the spine--the contents are in fine condition, however. Library of Congress surplus stamp on front free (onion paper) leaf.
- Rare. No copies are located in WorldCat/OCLC. $950 I cannot determine that this has seen publication beyond this seemingly low-distribution production.
This is a very nicely indexed chronology of television from 1920-1935, containing 878 entries which are referenced and cross-referenced in seven pages of indexes. It is an unusual accumulation as Kersta uses nothing but the New Yrok Times as the source of the chronological development of television--although there's a lot of technical information, using the Paper of Record gives the work an interesting insight from the public/popular point of view. This seems to be a full and appreciative work by a present-at-the-creation person who was also an MIT Ph.D.
On Kersta (1911-2003), from his obituary in the Sun Sentinel: "...Chemical Engineering at Georgia Tech, a Masters in Electrical Engineering at New York University, and a PhD in Statistics at MIT. In 1932 Nick joined NBC as a clerk in the network's mail division. In his spare moments at NBC, Nick was thinking about a new idea called television. He read all the published papers on the subject that were available. While still in high school, he had seen one of the earliest public video demonstrations in the country that was staged by AT&T's Bell Labs. His duties with NBC had no immediate connection with television, as his job was to analyze the audience mail. At night he studied at NYU where he earned a graduate degree. He was subsequently offered a scholarship at MIT. While at MIT, he lectured on television at the university's extension courses and joined with two other young video enthusiasts in founding the Television Research Institute. His work with the Television Research Institute prompted NBC to rehire him to develop plans for the commercial operation of television. When NBC established a separate television department in 1939, he became the assistant to the vice president in charge, and in 1941 was made manager of the department. NBC inaugurated commercial television on July 1, 1941. On that historic day, contracts of all four advertisers taking time on WNBT, NBC's video station, bore the signature of Noran E. Kersta, who negotiated then for NBC..."
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