Wonderful Designed stereo from Curtis Mathes during the the late 1960's to the early 1970's

Do not do this to your Curtis Mathes Console. Never gut or trash an American classic. These machines are no longer being made on this world. To trash a console that is in good working order is a crime against Humanity.

As you can see from the before photo below this unit did not need to be broken down. It was also a good working console. It was sold on E bay in pieces. Some seller think they can get more from an older stereo that way. But it destroys the value of the unit and a piece of American history as well. 

Custom orders never upset the Company, what you want the way you want it was a company motto at Curtis Mathes. They would make anyway you wanted it made.

If you like blue or Aqua, well we could do that as well as Oak or Mahogany.  To make the customer happy was the company goal.

Not happy with your old turntable Curtis Mathes would update your console with the latest model. 

A dresser made by Olive and Myers. Little history on the company is:

The roots of today's uniView Technologies Corporation are traced back to 1899 with the founding of the Olive & Myers Manufacturing Co. and Houston spin-off Myers-Lottman Co. (later to become Myers-Spalti). Engaged in the production of quality household furniture and mattresses for nearly sixty years, they became the two strongest furniture manufacturers in the Southwest.

In 1957, Curtis Mathes & Associates purchased a major interest in the Olive-Myers-Spalti Manufacturing Co. The new firm, called Curtis Mathes Manufacturing Company, combined its decades of furniture building and electronics experience, first to enter the hi-fi business and, in 1959, the television industry.

With these changes, Curtis Mathes started its tradition of combining top quality video and audio products housed in fine furniture. Just four years later, the Company entered the world of color television, beginning the era in which the Company became a household name.

It’s extremely nicely made and is in pristine condition and was recently refinished. It has really nice rounded edges and very 50's style handles on the drawers. All original. The mirror can be removed for easy transportation. This is an extremely heavy piece of furniture and will require 2 people to move it. Dimensions of the dresser alone is 33 x 60 x 19

This is a very rare Curtis Mathes branded computer. It was manufactured by Arima back in the golden age of American made computers; and was sold at American Microtech in Dallas under the licensed branding of Curtis Mathes.

This has state of the art space age components with Texas space age design. A really awesome piece of Texas history and know-how.

 It is a 386SX/20 with 2M ram. It works fully. I'd have to say that very few of these still exist. The design and workmanship in the computer is remarkable.

Back in the late 1980's Curtis Mathes with the help of  Arima Computer a Texas Corporation created a beautiful line of wonderfully designed computers for both  business and home needs.

Arima was then and still is engages in the design, manufacture, and delivery of computer, consumer, and communication products and services.

The company is based in Houston, Texas. Arima Computer (Texas) Corporation is a former subsidiary of Arima Computer Corporation. Arima Computer (Texas) Corporation operates as a subsidiary of Flextronics Computing Sales and Marketing Ltd

Curtis Mathes Color Console Television. Made May 1987, Curtis Mathes Television model B2610RC. It has a very nice CRT, and has been a daily player for almost 26 years. I know that RCA and JVC sometimes made Curtis Mathes CRT’s for the company after 1980.  But this amazing console has ... WOW a Hitachi A66ABU30X Picture Tube, no longer in stock and they sold for $506.07 back when they did have them.. That is simply amazing this is first I knew of this, and I worked in the cabinet design department for Curtis Mathes back in the stone age. I knew they were always having to scramble to get CRT’s. I will have to add Hitachi to the list ofknown suppliers back in the 1980’s of Curtis Mathes Picture Tubes.

The company headquarters back then was at Curtis Mathes, 1411 Greenway Drive, Irving, Texas 75038-2410. It is now Curtis Mathes Realty. This model had a Type C88-2 picture tube, and the picture type replacement would be a A66ABU35X picture tube. In the video below is the1987 Curtis Mathes Color Console Television playing the Invaders.

 

I believe the cabinet was manufactured in Texas at Athens, and she was assembled in Athens, Texas as well. She even has the world famous Curtis Mathes Vacation Switch on the back on the cabinet. The Chassis on this set is a C88-2. This set was Run 01, which was the first one of this group at the television manufacturing plant. Watts: 125, Hertz: 60, and Volts: 120.

Below is a video of Inside the Chassis of my 1987 Curtis Mathes Color Console Television.

She is a remarkable television, with at great color picture tube, and was one of the last well-made American made TV’s. Below is photo of her playing Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

More about the vacation switch. The vacation switch was one of those Curtis Mathes gimmicks to try to keep the upscale market, you turn it on or off depending on if you are going to be home or not for an extend period of time. Many rich CM Customer had vacation homes, and when you left your Summer home, or Winter home you set your vacation switch on the TV on or off according to if you are gone or staying. This would protect the TV from power surges from storms, and also many thief’s would think the TV was dead, and not steal it because the TV will not work until the switch is turn back own. It is much like a light switch on the back of the TV. Tragically many good CM Televisions from this era were and still are  destroyed because at thrift stores they never check the back of the TV to reset the switch and think it is a dead TV.

Television Manufacturers in USA Marketplace

From 1939 until today, there have been over 220 television set manufacturers that made sets in & for the USA market. The list below shows the major TV manufacturers. Those highlighted in blue are present day companies making TV sets in the United States of Amreica. As you can see, no more televisions are made in the USA.

Manufacturer Years of TV-set Production

Admiral 1947- 1979

Advent (now Chinese owned) 1975 to date

Andrea 1947-1978

Base 1947-1965

Calbest 1947-1968

Capehart 1947-1965

Certified Radio Labs 1947-1966

Clairetone 1967

Colonial Radio (Sylvania) 1949-1983

Color Electronics 1964

Conar 1962

Cortron Ind (Hoffman) 1948-1970

Curtis-Mathes 1960 to date

Delmonico 1967

DuMont 1938-early 1970s (later sets were made by Emerson)

Emerson 1947-1973

Farnsworth 1947-1965

Fujitsu 1992 to date

General Electric 1947-1986

Goldstar 1983

Harvey Ind. 1989

Heath - Heathkit 1964-1989

Hitachi 1975 to date

Hoffman (Cortron Ind) 1948-1970

Howard Radio (Muntz) 1948-1973

Jensen 2003 to date

JVC 1976 to date

Kane Electronics 1967

Kent 1951-1964

Kloss Video 1981

Magnavox 1948-1976

Magnavox (Philips) 1976 to date

Marantz 1992 to date

Matsushita (Panasonic, National, Quasar, Technics, Ramsa) 1959 to date

Mattison 1949-1968

Mercury-Pacific 1950-1964

Mitsubishi 1980 to date

Motorola 1947-1974

Muntz (Howard Radio) 1948-1973

NEC 1989

Nivico (Nippon Victor Corporation) 1960s

North American Audio 1962

Olympic 1948-1971

Orion 1981

Packard Bell 1948-1974

Panasonic (Matsushita) 1975 to date

Philco (Philco-Ford) 1947-1976

Philips 1976 to date

Philmore 1948-1965

Pilot (Jerrold) 1964

Pioneer 1985

Ravenswood 1962

RCA 1946-1986

RCA (Thomson, recently TTE - Thomson Technologies) RCA markets Scenium and Proscan models today 1987 to date

Sampo 1981 to date

Samsung 1989 to date

Sanabria 1960

Sanyo 1977 to date

Sansui 1987 to date

Setchell Carlson 1950-1970

Sharp 1983 to date

Sonora 1962

Sony 1961 to date

Sylvania 1949-1983

Symphonic 1960

Tatung 1979 to date

Tech-Master 1948-1968

Telequip 1949-1968

Teletronics 1970

TMA 1948-1973

Thompson (Thomson) 1987 to date

Toshiba 1976 to date

Transvision 1947-1967

Trav-Ler 1948-1965

Warwick 1951-1977

Wells-Gardner 1948-1990

Westinghouse 1947-1969

Zenith 1948 to date

The two photos below are of the Vintage Zenith Solid State Television that was given to me many years ago. This beautiful color console once belonged to Lady Bird Johnson.

She was very well made and hand wired as you can see from this inside photo below, this is one of those early pull down chassis;

I need help with the manufactured date, model number; and a good source of parts for my vintage Zenith Solid State, Space Command console television that once belonged to Lady Bird Johnson. The photo below is of her when she was the First Lady back in the mid-1960's.

 I

I had all the information but it got lost during the foreclosure of my home. This TV belonged to Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson, She gave it to her neighbor and his wife, and he gave it to me. Made in Chicago Illinois, She has a Space Command remote. A true hand wired classic Zenith Television, Check out videos below;

Zenith Solid State Zenith Space Command Television, Once belonged to Lady Bird Johnson.

http://youtu.be/I5TAojevQjo

Part Two of the Zenith Color Television that Once Belonged to Lady Bird Johnson.

http://youtu.be/NFmdHkGaeZg

I have found some information on 1975 Zenith Chromacolor Ⅱ set with the number 25JC49 chassis, But there are no modules, or parts to be found on this chassis model. I am beginning to thing I might have the very last one of this design.

Good news, I started to do some chassis work on this console, and found some information that I had over looked. A small tag said Zenith Radio Corp. Manufactured September 1977 Chicago, Ill USA. Another said Service No SJ2545M, with her serial number 3065678 the Run was 736B and a cabinet number 14-1H68-2H. Then I found another tag: Zenith Chormacolor II Model No SJ2545M, Chassis 25JC45M, 120V - 60 HZ and 1.8 AMPS.

Hunt for former Texas Tech Professor's killer continues, they took his Curtis Mathes TV. This was a Curtis Mathes console style television. It would have taken at least two people to carry the television out!

DETECTIVE REMAINS hopeful that crime will be solved.

Police are still searching for the person who broke into an 80-year-old man's home back in 1996 to repeatedly stab him, the department has continues its hunt for the person who murdered the elderly, former Texas Tech professor in his home so many years ago. Haskell G. Taylor, 83, was found beaten and strangled to death in his residence Oct. 29, 1996. Someone had apparently broken into the house where Taylor lived by himself at 3421 54th Street.

His home was ransacked. A large Curtis Mathes Console Television, a Magnavox VCR, a brass mantle clock and a World War I multicolored beer stein were stolen. But a silver tea service was left behind. There was no sign of forced entry. The medical examiner ruled the case of death as blunt-force trauma to the head.

The veteran of World War II and Korea saw his two children every few months when they'd return to Lubbock from their Houston homes. His daughter-in-law is believed to be the last person to hear from Taylor before he was found by police. She called him the night before he died to make sure her family would have a ride from the airport the following day.

Detective Rene Martinez is the third homicide investigator to take on the case. The first detective was killed in a car accident in 1998, and the second detective now works patrol. Martinez remembers the day Taylor's body was found. He'd called in sick that day, but drove by the patrol car-flanked home after he picked his daughter up from school.

"That makes it difficult because most of the reports are summaries of the officer's observations," he said. "It's hard to figure out why certain information was important to that investigator." Nevertheless, Martinez works on the cases when he finds a rare lull in current cases. He plans to have the department's identification team or the Department of Public Safety crime lab review evidence still in the police property room in hopes of finding leads with new crime-fighting technology. Martinez said he believes the killer likely is an acquaintance outside Taylor's closest circle of family and friends. Taylor had retired from Tech in 1978.

"I think there's a group of people who maybe worked (small jobs) for him or had some kind of relationship with him that his family didn't know about," Martinez said. "In my opinion, that's where the suspect probably came from."

Most elderly people who live in middle-class neighborhoods don't know their neighbors, he said, so there was no one with detailed information about Taylor's personal life or day-to-day encounters. More than 50 people were interviewed and ruled out as suspects soon after the murder. Despite the age of the case, Martinez remains convinced Taylor's killer will one day face justice.

"There's so few crimes that can really be said to be a perfect crime," he said. "A lot of the time people have information and make the assumption that police know and they don't call in." That's why he says he hopes someone will come forward with a tip that would breathe new life into the investigation.

Haskell Taylor was known to most in the Texas Tech Accounting Department as Mr. Texas Tech. He founded the Tech Accounting Society, has several endowments in his name and worked at the university for more than 50 years.

Sgt. Gomez says the most telling piece of evidence stolen from Taylor's home that morning was a Curtis Mathes console style television. Gomez says at least two people would have had to carry the television out, which means there is a good possibility there are at least two suspects. The police have the serial number of that television and could match it. If you have any information about this case, call Crime Line at (806) 741-1000.

A reward offered in the case began at $1,000 from Crime Line and grew as friends, family members and anonymous donors contributed to the fund. It now stands at near $6,250.Anyone with information about Haskell or the case should call Martinez at 775-2402.

[email protected] 766-8707

Photo above Employee Stock options 1983, one could build up quite an investment in the Company. This made the employees want to make sure that Curtis Mathes products were the best. The Curtis Mathes company was not always the maker of "the most expensive television set in America; and darn well worth it." That came later. Curtis Mathes began in 1919 making automobile and tractor parts (it introduced lights on tractors). Who knew? Then the company began making evaporative coolers and safety fans, with wooden cabinets, naturally. Then furniture.

When the Curtis Mathes Company went out of business it hurt more than Texas. The photo above is of a Curtis Mathes Warehouse in Chattanooga,Tennessee that was closed, and torn down. Curtis Mathes had over 200 warehouses, and supply centers across the United States. The number of Curtis Mathes Showrooms was well over the 600 mark by the year 1980.