The 1962 Curtis Mathes line production.

[Glenn Waters]

The mother of all mothers wall unit.


Here she is in a larger frame.

The Lexington so retro very early 1960's

The Nantucket very Early American.


I have a whole book to show! More to come later!

[AUdubon5425]

My consolette should be in that catalog.

[ctc17]

w0w! look at the legs on that Nantucket! Speaking of CM I found a huge box of CM tubes and parts in the trash the other day. What a random find in LA.

[Jeffhs]

I think the "Imperial Dane" console shown at the beginning of this thread must have used the old "AM/FM stereo" quasi-stereo system, which broadcast one channel over an AM radio station and the other over an FM station; since the console was made in 1961, it wouldn't surprise me if this was the case. The FCC didn't authorize the FM "multiplex" stereo broadcasting standard here until the following year. The tipoff is the phrase "AM/FM simulcast" in the description of the console. If it were equipped for stereo multiplex, I'm sure the ad would have said so.

[Glenn Waters]

More beauties from the 1961 new line production of Curtis Mathes!

[AUdubon5425]

Awesome. Thanks for this! My "Portabout" was the last set I ever expected to see in a catalog. It's interesting to see it was available with or without the legs and shelf, and the casters were optional.

How about the "Montgomery" - over nine feet long! Couldn't stand on its side in most houses.

[Sandy G]

....An' they weren't even Color....

[Glenn Waters]

Wonderful!!
AUdubon5425
Awesome.
Here I made this one bigger for you!!

[Glenn Waters]

Here is some more very cool stuff from 1961

[Hemingray]

[Glenn Waters]

I only wish DuMont was still around in 1961; but DuMont stop broadcasting in 1956! That would have been awesome to watch that network of a Curtis Mathes. The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont Laboratories, a television equipment and set manufacturer. The network was hindered by the prohibitive cost of broadcasting, by Federal Communications Commission regulations which restricted the company's growth, and even by the company's partner, Paramount Pictures. Despite several innovations in broadcasting and the creation of one of television's biggest stars of the 1950s, the network never found itself on solid financial ground. Forced to expand on UHF channels during an era when UHF was not profitable, DuMont ceased broadcasting in 1956.

DuMont's latter-day obscurity has prompted at least one notable TV historian to refer to it as the "Forgotten Network". A few popular DuMont programs, such as Cavalcade of Stars and Emmy Award winner Life Is Worth Living, appear in TV retrospectives or are mentioned briefly in books about U.S. television history, but sadly almost all the network's programming was destroyed in the 1970s.

[Jeffhs]

At least one of DuMont's best series still is (or was) on cable; that show is The Honeymooners, starring the late Jackie Gleason. This program was shown in northeastern Ohio over television station WCLQ-TV (now Univision WQHS), channel 61 in Cleveland in the early '80s, and may have been (or may still be) shown in syndication in other markets as well. I have VHS videotapes of many Honeymooners episodes, some of poor quality due to signal variations (I didn't have cable when I taped these shows); the tapes include vintage station IDs from WCLQ-TV and, at the end of at least one tape, there is at least one episode of the 1980s sitcom "Newhart", which was a CBS Late Movie presentation at that time.

BTW, I didn't realize the DuMont network, in the '50s, was ever on UHF channels. There are several US cities that had at the time (and still have) only UHF TV channels (Youngstown, Ohio, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, Fresno, California, et al), so I don't see how UHF was "not profitable" in the '50s, unless you are referring to independent UHF stations that started out with big plans and, perhaps, an eye towards an eventual network affiliation, but eventually fizzled out due to financial difficulties or any one of 1001 other reasons. There was one such station in Cleveland that failed after only seven years; this was (now defunct) Kaiser Broadcasting's WKBF-TV, channel 61. This was an independent UHF station that showed off-network reruns and old movies, and even, IIRC, tried to launch a ten o'clock news program, to no avail. The station went off the air for good in 1975, only seven years after its initial sign-on in 1968, to be replaced in 1982 by WCLQ, a locally-owned independent station. Then, some years later, the station was sold to the (now defunct as an OTA TV network) Home Shopping Network, and the call sign changed to WQHS. That station remained on all northern Ohio TV dials until just a few years ago, when Univision purchased it from HSN and converted it to Spanish-language programming, keeping the call sign.

[Glenn Waters]

Hi Jeff,
Great information!
Some DuMont programs were produced by other networks but aired on DuMont. For example, Play the Game (1946) was produced by ABC, but aired on DuMont since ABC had no network until 1948. The Admiral Broadway Revue (1949) aired on both NBC and DuMont at the same time, as did Man Against Crime (1953). Pick the Winner (1952) aired on both CBS and DuMont. Some programs, such as Flash Gordon (1954) aired both in syndication and on DuMont. These exceptions are noted in the list.

There were many programs produced at DuMont facilities but which aired on other networks, such as CBS's The Honeymooners (1955), Paramount television series, and programs created by successor companies (DuMont Broadcasting Company, Metropolitan Broadcasting, Metromedia, and Fox Broadcasting Company).

Here are some of the shows that started with "A" on the DuMont Network!

A.N.T.A. Album of 1955 closed-circuit fundraising appeal sponsored by American National Theater and Academy (ANTA) and CARE seen in 31 theaters nationwide on 28 March 1955
The Admiral Broadway Revue (simulcast on DuMont and NBC)
Adventure Playhouse
The Adventures of Ellery Queen
The Adventures of Oky Doky
The Al Morgan Show (originated from WGN-TV in Chicago)
The Alan Dale Show
And Everything Nice
The Armed Forces Hour
The Arthur Murray Party
The Author Meets the Critics

Then there is the "B" list and the list goes on and to "Z" very awesome times in the early days.
Battle of the Ages
Better Living TV Theater
The Big Idea
The Big Issue (aka Keep Posted)
The Bigelow Theatre
Bingo at Home
Blind Date
Bowling Headliners
Boxing from Eastern Parkway
Boxing from Jamaica Arena
Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena
Boxing with Dennis James
Broadway to Hollywood (aka Headline Clues)

[akent36]

There were quite a few CM sets in the small town where I grew up as there was a dealer only 10 miles away. I remember just average looking consoles, not any of these huge, fancy combos. Thanks to Glenn for posting it.

[jhalphen]

Hi Glenn,

Thanks! for the scans.

Does your catalogue show a small 11 inch B&W portable? my grandparents had one as a second TV in the 1960s.

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France