Madman Muntz and TV

[Baker, John]

        I'm inclined to think that myself, especially in light of the
apparent lack of contemporary references supporting his claim.  It is
true, however, that Earl Muntz was an early user of the term.  He seems
to have gotten into the television set manufacturing business in 1946,
with his first sales in 1947.  The term "TV" has been traced back to
1947, according to M-W.  A use before that date would throw his claim
into serious question; a use before 1946 would seem to disprove it.  Can
anyone beat those dates?

        It strikes me that the FTC materials might have some examples,
but the early FTC materials don't seem to be on Westlaw or otherwise
online, unless I've missed them.


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Wilson Gray
Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2008 9:08 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Madman Muntz and TV

IMO, no.

-Wilson


On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 12:17 AM, Baker, John <JMB at stradley.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Baker, John" <JMB at STRADLEY.COM>
> Subject:      Madman Muntz and TV
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------
>
> In the Wikipedia article on Madman Muntz (it's today's featured =
> article), the claim is made that Muntz coined the abbreviation "TV"
> for = television.  Is there any basis for this?=20 =20 =20 John Baker
> =20
>

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