Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
@PulpLibrarian
Apr 22, 2021 • 13 tweets • 5 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
As Ceefax is trending today let's take a quick look back at the 1970s analogue internet on your telly!

Just waiting for the right page...
Teletext is a way of sending text and very blocky graphics alongside a traditional TV signal, to be decoded and displayed by a suitably equipped telly.

Rumbelows can sort you out with a Ferguson or ITT set if you need one...
And on 23 September 1974 the first teletext service started in the UK: Ceefax on BBC, and Oracle on ITV!*

(*assuming your parents let you watch ITV. Not all did.)
Soon Britain became obsessed by this slightly strange technology. Information on the telly? Whatever next!
And it wasn't long before Blue Peter came along to explain how the magic worked in 1975:

Over to you Lesley...
BBC News soon saw the advantages of Ceefax, and began using it for breaking news: bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-…
And no trip back from the pub was complete without plonking down on your favourite armchair to watch Pages From Ceefax accompanied by some soothing music!
From 1979 onwards the BBC began using Ceefax to provide subtitles, helping to make TV more accessible.
And by the early 1980s you could also get Ceefax on your computer, allowing you to download software for free!

Not quite a torrent, but near enough...
Teletext seemed to have it all and for many years it was a staple part of our news and entertainment diet.
But new technology aways usurps the old and Ceefax came to an end on 22 October 2012, when 625-line analogue TV broadcasts in the UK ended.

Its job was done...
If you were a fan of Ceefax you'll certainly want to check out the online Teletext Museum: teletext.mb21.co.uk
Anyway I hope this thread has helped answer your many questions about what we did before the internet arrived.

Basically we stared at a screen all day for fun...

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Pulp Librarian

Pulp Librarian Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @PulpLibrarian

Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Apr 3
It was a phenomenon, spawning a franchise that has lasted over fifty years. It's also a story with many surprising influences.

Today in pulp I look back at a sociological science-fiction classic, released today in 1968: Planet Of The Apes! Image
Pierre Boulle is probably best known for his 1952 novel Bridge On The River Kwai, based on his wartime experiences in Indochina. So it was possibly a surprise when 11 years later he authored a science fiction novel. Image
However Boulle had been a Free French secret agent during the war. He was captured in 1943 by Vichy forces in Vietnam and sentenced to hard labour. This experience of capture would shape his novel La Planète Des Singes. Image
Read 18 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Mar 25
Today I'm looking back at the work of British graphic designer Abram Games! Image
Abram Games was born in Whitechapel, London in 1914. His father, Joseph, was a photographer who taught him the art of colouring by airbrush. Image
Games attended Hackney Downs School before dropping out of Saint Martin’s School of Art after two terms. His design skills were mainly self-taught by working as his father’s assistant. Image
Read 13 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Mar 23
Today I'm looking back at the career of English painter, book illustrator and war artist Edward Ardizzone! Image
Edward Ardizzone was born in Vietnam in 1900 to Anglo-French parents. Aged 5 he moved to England, settling in Suffolk. Image
Whilst working as an office clerk in London Ardizzone began to take lessons at the Westminster School of Art in his spare time. In 1926 he gave up his office job to concentrate on becoming a professional artist. Image
Read 14 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Mar 14
Today in pulp I look back at the Witchploitation explosion of the late 1960s: black magic, bare bottoms and terrible, terrible curtains!

Come this way... Image
Mainstream occult magazines and books had been around since late Victorian times. These were mostly about spiritualism, with perhaps a bit of magic thrown in. Image
But it was the writings of Aleister Crowley in English and Maria de Naglowska in French and Russian that first popularised the idea of 'sex magick' in the 20th century - the use of sexual energy and ritual to achieve mystical outcomes. Image
Image
Read 15 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Mar 8
Between 1960 and 1970 Penguin Books underwent several revolutions in cover layout, at a time when public tastes were rapidly changing.

Today in pulp I look back at 10 years that shook the Penguin! Image
Allen Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, aiming to bring high-quality paperbacks to the masses for the same price as a packet of cigarettes. Lane began by snapping up publishing rights for inexpensive mid-market novels and packaging them expertly for book lovers. Image
From the start Penguins were consciously designed; Lane wanted to distinguish his paperbacks from pulp novels. Edward Young created the first cover grid, using three horizontal bands and the new-ish Gill Sans typeface for the text. Image
Read 22 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Mar 3
Today in pulp: a tale of an unintentionally radical publisher. It only produced 42 books between 1968-9, but it caught the hedonistic, solipsistic, free love mood of the West Coast freakout scene like no other.

This is the story of Essex House... Image
Essex House was an offshoot of Parliament Press, a California publishing company set up by pulp artist Milton Luros after the market for pulp magazines began to decline. It specialised in stag magazines sold through liquor stores, to skirt around US obscenity publishing laws. Image
Image
By the 1960s Parliament Press was already selling pornographic novels through its Brandon House imprint, though these were mostly reprints or translations of existing work. Luros was interested in publishing new erotic authors, and set up Essex House to do just that. Image
Read 19 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(