Original Source for Flyback Driver Hack?

One of my all-time favorite circuits is the the following DC-to-AC inverter (click diagram to enlarge) based on an old color TV flyback:

In this AC power supply, a push-pull oscillator drives a TV flyback transformer from an old color TV (a flyback without embedded tripler). The well-known hack is that the original primary of the flyback is not used. Instead, new primaries are made by winding two sets of four turns each of insulated #18 wire around the exposed core of the flyback transformer. Feedback for the oscillator is obtained through an additional coil of 4 turns of #24 wire wound around the core:

 I’ve described power supplies based on this circuit in:

http://www.diyphysics.com/2012/02/09/d-i-y-250-kv-high-voltage-dc-power-supply-with-neat-trick-for-switching-polarity/

http://www.diyphysics.com/2012/02/10/universal-resonant-transformer-driver-high-voltage-flyback-driver/

http://www.diyphysics.com/2012/02/10/adding-your-own-primary-to-high-voltage-flyback-transformer-for-resonant-driving/

In our d.i.y. book “Exploring Quantum Physics Through Hands-On Projects” we show many ways in which this power supply can be used to perform advanced physics experiments.

I can’t remember when I saw this hack for the first time, but last night I was going through some old Radio Electronics magazines and found the circuit described in page 78 of the September 1981 issue.  However, I believe that I used this circuit earlier than that.  Do you know about the original source of this hack?

DANGER! Please note that this is a dangerous device! It produces high voltages which can cause very painful or lethal electrical shocks. In addition, spark discharges can be produced which can ignite flammable materials or volatile atmospheres.

Please visit www.prutchi.com and www.diyPhysics.com for other cutting-edge d.i.y. projects, and remember to check out our new d.i.y. Quantum Physics book: