It is evening at the time of writing this. I made a cup of chamomile tea for the night. I'm going to write this quickly so I don't miss most of Wheel of Fortune. My apologies in advance for not writing in a couple of weeks. Everything has been blooming with the advent of Spring and my sinuses are killing me. Just bad headaches and desperately needing a Zyrtec before and after work. I cannot ignore this blog however, I want to learn what I can about this piece of media. Pat and Vanna will have to wait a couple of minutes, they'll be just fine I'm sure.
For the basic information, please refer to my previous post on this blog here. Except that these are my grandparents on my dad's said, sorry for neglecting to mention that.
From what I can tell, "Television Carnival/Circus" is most likely a false memory my grandfather had. He swore up and down that it was real, but the increasing details over the years has me suspect. On the other hand, he didn't often misremember things from what I can tell. My grandma or my dad were usually able to back up what he said. Knowing this, I think there's evidence in favor and against the existence of this "Television Carnival/Circus".
Everything he told me was the following
The show was called "Television Carnival" or "Television Circus"
He didn't know if it was a series or just a single program.
The only broadcast he was aware of was the demonstration he went to, a demonstration in which not many people attened.
It was 1938, when television was still in its experimental stage.
It was most likely never recorded.
The woman doing the demonstration was either named or had the last name "Preston", she may have been the creator of the show. She had black hair and an "unusual voice" as my grandfather put it.
The show was very surreal and abstract, with no discernible story or characters.
The demonstration was most likely at a department store, possibly Piser & Co.
It is unknown if RCA was involved with this demonstration.
The information is so vague yet detailed I have to think it was a false memory, that and the lack of physical evidence. However, there may be some truth to this story. My grandma said my great grandmother confirmed many of the details of this story. She was apparently the source of the Preston information and that the demonstration took place at Piser & Co, a few days after a larger demonstration there. She never thought much of the presentation, finding the lady to be "a looney" (her words, not mine, please don't shoot the messenger.). She also read about it in "the paper", could be any newspaper from The City from that time but she must've seen an ad about it or something. Apparently my great-grandpa was really into radios and wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, he passed away before my grandpa met grandma. My grandpa was only 10 when my great-grandpa passed away, possibly from a stroke.
If you find any information on Television Carnival/Circus, please email me at m.preston.archive@gmail.com. Finding the alleged advertisement for this demonstration may possibly confirm its existence and help me move forward with my research.
I just have a feeling it's real, despite the lack of information telling me otherwise. Wish fulfillment? Who knows...
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