TV Trays

Just after television sets became widely available to the American public in the 1950s, families had to negotiate dinner in front of the TV, at least until 1954.

Gerry Thomas invented the Swanson TV Dinner in 1954 as a convenient means for using leftover frozen turkey. The first TV Dinner, containing turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, and peas packaged on a compartmentalized tray, cooked in under half an hour and sold for under $1. After Swanson sold 10 million TV Dinners that first year, furniture's form followed suit with the development of the TV tray. Original TV trays were aluminum in construction and featured folding tops and collapsible legs.

When in use, the top clips to the unfolded legs; when not in use, the top clips to one set of legs. Sets of TV trays in the 50s came with storage racks, which were generally placed in a living room.