Television, gas and electricity: Consuming comfort and leisure in the British home 1946–65

Abstract

The arrival of television into the British home in the post-war period coincided with rising standards of comfort, provided by utilities such as gas and electricity and the devices that they powered. Television, in its capacity as a broadcast medium, was another utility flowing into the post-war home, providing domestic leisure. This article will explore how the material image of the television set became emblematic of the modern, leisure-based home, examining how it was used, in conjunction with gas and electricity, to construct an idealized comfortable home. This relationship was promoted in lifestyle magazines, advertisements, design publications and exhibitions. I will argue that from this relationship an idealized television lifestyle emerged, based around comfort and leisure, which was used to promote the consumption of gas and electricity, thus embedding television’s material form in consumer culture. In this way, the article will position the history of television in relation to the other utilities which shaped the home in this period, namely gas and electricity.