Interesting piece about Curtis Mathes

[Reece]

Over on ARF.

http://antiqueradios.com/forums/view...er=asc&start=0

[Charlie]

That CM roundie kinda looks familiar.

[RobtWB]

Nice thread over on ARF.

I have never been fortunate enough to stumble across an "old" Curtis Mathes set.

I do have 3 CM sets from the mid 1980's - a 13 inch portable set and 2 consoles, and all 3 have NEC innards.

As with ALL 1980's vintage sets, they have no monetary value, but the 3 I have make excellent daily watchers.

I have never understood why some "collectors" trash the CM sets. Sorta like those automotive "experts" - who never have anything good to say about a vehicle, unless it is one of their "picks". Same with tv "experts" I guess.

[Reece]

Originally Posted by Charlie

That CM roundie kinda looks familiar.

Ohmigosh it does, now that I check back. He shoulda given you credit.

[Charlie]

That doesn't really bother me. He didn't say it was "his" set... just that here's another CM and it still works. It's on a forum board for other members to see (and I figure most have seen it already)... it's not like it's on his personal website.

Not long ago, i stumbled across that same picture on Google by simply doing a search for Curtis Mathes. A few photos showed up, and I was kinda tickled that mine was one of them.

The only time something like that bothered me was a few years ago when someone tried using a photo of one of my sets in their ebay auction. The photo quickly vanished when I asked the seller why was he using my set to sell in his auction. THAT was a no-no! I think a few others here have had the same thing happen with photos of their sets showing up on other people's ebay items.

[jr_tech]

I find it interesting that in this article, like so many others that I have seen, the "start" date of production is stated, but the "end" date is not. I can only assume that it was after 1991, so CM appears to have lasted pretty much to the end of American TV production, even though they were using NEC chassis.

jr

[truetone36]

I wonder if there's any pics of the Athens plant anywhere on the web?

[DaveWM]

Charlie I LOVE that set, got it all, roundie, color,tube stereo, tuning eye, tasteful cabinet...

Perfect combo!

[MarkWilson]

I have a 1982 CM combo that is made by Funai. Complete garbage. The electronics as well as the cabinet. Got it for free, thought I'd rescue it but its not even worth sitting in my living room.

Too many American made companies that sold out to the highest bidder. Wonder why we are in the economic times we are? We've become a country of consumers. BTW my American made RCA CTC-40 combo is still working great. Funny how quality can make such a big diffrence.

[kx250rider]

Originally Posted by RobtWB

I have never understood why some "collectors" trash the CM sets.

Maybe most TV collectors are yankees, and are still sore over the outcome of the Civil War... Only interested in collecting Northern-built TVs?
Seriously, I think it's the same as how Hoffmans are often scorned by collectors. All of the regional TV makers, such as the above, are great sets. But for some reason, I hear that the cornerstones of a TV collection are RCAs, DuMonts, and etc. I've always liked the weird brands, and the small makers. My biggest collector TV passion is Kaye-Halbert; made in Culver City, CA.

So the CM plant is still standing but vacant? Athens is only about 80 miles from our Dallas house, so I might go take a look if someone can confirm that it's still there. I'd hate to make the drive and find out it got bulldozed last year. I'm there all this week.

Charles

[truetone36]

The CM plant is still there, my sister lives in Athens and she passes it all the time. When I lived in the area I worked about a mile from it but I never took the time to check it out. I wish I did.

[Glenn Waters]

jr teck,
This is how the huge Curtis Mathes Company went down,
Harvey Industries filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on March 2, 1992, and has reported that they did not operate most, if any, of the calendar year 1991. Curtis Mathes leased office space and storage/shipping space from Harvey Joint Venture in July 1986 and remained at the site through July 31, 1993. Curtis Mathes filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on January 27, 1992, and was granted reorganization on September 1, 1992 On November 17, 1993, the State of Texas entered into an agreement with a third party, Lorax Corp., which allowed Lorax to clean up the on-site warehouse in exchange for leasing the warehouse.
Hi truetone36,
I have some photos of the Curtis Mathes Athens plant as she looks today!

Below is a photo of the plants parking lot as it looks today; very sad I must say.

And here is a wonderful photo taken from the sky of the plant as she looks today in Athens, Texas.

This is the only action going on in the back lot of the Curtis Mathes Plant in Athens, Texas these days.

Not at all like the good old days, like when these women were working in 1959 for Curtis Mathes.

I guess we are a really far away from the 1980's as well!

[marty59]

Curtis-Mathis does still exist but now they are into property management/ownership of some type..the reason I know this is because off the Interstate 20 frontage road here in Arlington is a large open type shopping center called "The Highlands" and the featured store signage has the C-M logo at the bottom of each of those signs..

[Glenn Waters]

Hi marty59,
After Curtis Jr.'s death in 1983, Melinda Mathes built a mixed-use community with a nursing home and business center in Arlington, a venture in which her son John Mathes participated. In 2004, Melinda and John formed Cheney & Mathes Properties to launch the Arlington Highlands partnership and continue the family legacy. The logo stayed the same but the name changed.


The Curtis Mathes Electronics Company has reemerged under new ownership and is headquartered in Frisco Texas. They make LCD and Plasma televisions, home theater cabinets, DVD players and Blue Ray players. But I believe all their product line is now made overseas in China. The photo below shows one of the LCD televisions and cabinet products they made.

[jr_tech]

Glenn_Walters,
Thanks for the info on the shutdown of the CM plant, It is a sad story, and one that has been repeated too many times. At least the geese seem to be enjoying the property.

Are the cabinets for the "made in China" flat panels perhaps made in the new Texas plant?

jr