Many, many years ago, when television technology was still somewhat crude, stations used still images to promote upcoming shows or events. Often they used slides that were simply projected to the screen.

Of course, the need for these slides is long past but they remain a fascinating reminder of a simpler TV age. And so I was thrilled to come across a series of them for sale on eBay recently. According to the seller of these slides, they were used by NBC affiliate WRC-TV Channel 4, and were shown thanks to a piece of technology called a film chain. The film chain allows a station to convert a slide into an electronic signal and project it to a TV camera for broadcast.

I’m not certain of the dates on these, but I suspect many of them are from the 1950s and ’60s. I know the 1960s are in play because several of these slides feature the classic and underappreciated NBC snake logo. In any case, I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. Let’s look at some vintage slides!

(Click on any image for the full-size version.)