College Welcomes Historic TV Camera Collection
Newberry College’s Langford Communications Center is now home to several rare pieces of broadcast history: a collection of television cameras that tell the story of color television from the 1960s to the 1980s.
The four cameras are from the collection of radio personality and voiceover artist Bobby Ellerbee, the longtime voice of “Sheriff” on the Adult Swim series “Squidbillies.” A broadcast history enthusiast, Ellerbee started collecting television cameras many years ago. He also created the acclaimed “Eyes of a Generation” website, which not only showcases his camera collection but has collected hundreds of stories and thousands of photographs and artifacts from the first century of television history.
When Ellerbee recently bought a new home that didn’t have as much room for his collection, he called his friend and fellow broadcast historian, Dr. Jodie Peeler, professor of communications at Newberry College, and offered to lend four cameras for display in the Langford Center. Peeler transported them from Ellerbee’s home in Winder, Georgia, in February. With the help of a few students, Peeler reassembled the cameras and prepared them for display.
“It’s a very good thing for all of us,” Peeler said. “Bobby really believes in the historical value of these cameras, and he’s happy to have them in a place where up-and-coming generations can learn from them. For me, as a teacher, there’s no better learning tool for our students than the real thing. And as a historian, for me it’s a pure treat to have these rare treasures on display in our building.”
The four cameras are an RCA TK-42, a large four-tube color camera built in the mid-1960s and used by many television stations when they switched to locally produced color programs; a Marconi Mark VII, a British-built camera from the late 1960s; a 1976 vintage Ikegami HK-312, the first all-electronic computer-controlled camera; and an RCA TK-47, introduced in 1978, which won an Emmy award for its innovative technology.
The Marconi, which currently wears CBS markings, originally belonged to Tele-Tape Productions in New York and was used in the production of several nationally televised shows, including the first two years of “Sesame Street.” The Ikegami, which Ellerbee outfitted with ABC markings, has an ABC property label on its box lens. The TK-47, wearing NBC markings, belonged to a station in Indianapolis, and the TK-42 was originally delivered to a Minnesota station in 1966. All the cameras are displayed on period-appropriate studio pedestals and are made to appear as they would have looked while in service.
Ellerbee’s four cameras join Peeler’s own TK-47, which belonged to KCET-TV in Los Angeles and was used in the production of Dr. Carl Sagan’s 1980 PBS series “Cosmos.” Peeler has had the camera and its control room equipment on display in her office for the last several years.
While none of the cameras on display at Newberry can make pictures any longer, they still tell stories that hold meaning for modern television.
“It’s interesting to look at that huge TK-42 and realize the video you can capture on the average smartphone is so much better than anything that 260-pound camera could ever do,” Peeler said. “But you can’t really appreciate how far we’ve come until you see that older technology for yourself. These four cameras really demonstrate the evolution of color television: from analog to digital, on through to the incredibly capable high-definition cameras we now use in our television studio.”
Guided tours of the collection may be arranged with Peeler at 803-321-5225 or Jodie.Peeler@newberry.edu.
Newberry College’s Langford Communications Center is now home to several rare pieces of broadcast history: a collection of television cameras that tell the story of color television from the 1960s to the 1980s.
The four cameras are from the collection of radio personality and voiceover artist Bobby Ellerbee, the longtime voice of “Sheriff” on the Adult Swim series “Squidbillies.” A broadcast history enthusiast, Ellerbee started collecting television cameras many years ago. He also created the acclaimed “Eyes of a Generation” website, which not only showcases his camera collection but has collected hundreds of stories and thousands of photographs and artifacts from the first century of television history.
When Ellerbee recently bought a new home that didn’t have as much room for his collection, he called his friend and fellow broadcast historian, Dr. Jodie Peeler, professor of communications at Newberry College, and offered to lend four cameras for display in the Langford Center. Peeler transported them from Ellerbee’s home in Winder, Georgia, in February. With the help of a few students, Peeler reassembled the cameras and prepared them for display.
“It’s a very good thing for all of us,” Peeler said. “Bobby really believes in the historical value of these cameras, and he’s happy to have them in a place where up-and-coming generations can learn from them. For me, as a teacher, there’s no better learning tool for our students than the real thing. And as a historian, for me it’s a pure treat to have these rare treasures on display in our building.”
The four cameras are an RCA TK-42, a large four-tube color camera built in the mid-1960s and used by many television stations when they switched to locally produced color programs; a Marconi Mark VII, a British-built camera from the late 1960s; a 1976 vintage Ikegami HK-312, the first all-electronic computer-controlled camera; and an RCA TK-47, introduced in 1978, which won an Emmy award for its innovative technology.
The Marconi, which currently wears CBS markings, originally belonged to Tele-Tape Productions in New York and was used in the production of several nationally televised shows, including the first two years of “Sesame Street.” The Ikegami, which Ellerbee outfitted with ABC markings, has an ABC property label on its box lens. The TK-47, wearing NBC markings, belonged to a station in Indianapolis, and the TK-42 was originally delivered to a Minnesota station in 1966. All the cameras are displayed on period-appropriate studio pedestals and are made to appear as they would have looked while in service.
Ellerbee’s four cameras join Peeler’s own TK-47, which belonged to KCET-TV in Los Angeles and was used in the production of Dr. Carl Sagan’s 1980 PBS series “Cosmos.” Peeler has had the camera and its control room equipment on display in her office for the last several years.
While none of the cameras on display at Newberry can make pictures any longer, they still tell stories that hold meaning for modern television.
“It’s interesting to look at that huge TK-42 and realize the video you can capture on the average smartphone is so much better than anything that 260-pound camera could ever do,” Peeler said. “But you can’t really appreciate how far we’ve come until you see that older technology for yourself. These four cameras really demonstrate the evolution of color television: from analog to digital, on through to the incredibly capable high-definition cameras we now use in our television studio.”
Guided tours of the collection may be arranged with Peeler at 803-321-5225 or Jodie.Peeler@newberry.edu.
