Battle
of the 'Rabbit Ears' Heirs on Long Island, N. R. Kleinfield, New
York Times, 27 November 1991 Marvin Middlemark is often called the "inventor" of the
rabbit ears antenna. While this claim is doubtful, he probably made
more money than any one person on their sale. His All Channel Products
Corporation
in Queens, New York under the Rembrandt brand name was the leading
manufacturer of indoor TV antennas in the mid-1960s.
Karsten
Solheim, 88, Is Dead; Creator of the Ping Golf Club, Clifton
Brown, New York Times, 18 February 2000 Kartsten Solheim joined General Electric as a mechanical engineer
in 1953 and helped design the antenna on
their first portable television. This has resulted in
him accidentally being called the "inventor" of
the rabbit ears by some. Solheim is probably best known
as the founder of Karsten Manufacturing and the creator of Ping golf
clubs.
patents
US Patent
D152990, Ralph Leonard, 1949 (filed 8 October 1948) The oldest patent I could find with the familiar rabbit ears look.
US Patent
2583066, Theophile Stiffel, 1952 (filed 9 September 1949) Rabbit ears hidden in a floor lamp. A brilliant design that never
caught on.
US Patent
2608657, Milton Spirit and Jerome Goldman, 1952 (filed 14 April
1950)
US Patent
D175628, Marvin Middlemark, 1955 (filed 19 April 1955) This is the oldest design patent I could find with the Middlemark
name on it. (See inventors above.)
