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Braun RT-20 Table Radio
This particular radio is in perfect vintage cosmetic condition. The tube radio picks up LW, MW, and UKW signals (Broadcast, Long Wave, and FM).
This combination was designed by Dieter Rams and Hans Gugelot (Bauhaus / Ulmer Schule HFG aka "Ulm College of Design"). It's a classic example of early 'New Functionalism'.
White enamel on metal face plate, chassis in beech veneer. As already mentioned cosmetic is for its years almost "perfect", with freshly painted fascia and restored side panels.
So the veneers are in excellent condition with no great areas of significant loss, marks, gouging, staining, or other forms of major damage. Please see the images below. Steel sheet is in superb condition for its age and with no marks on the edges. Please see the images below.
All graphics are complete, the circular grille is clean and free of dirt or rust etc. The tuning knob is original, it sees maybe different, but it's original. Their colors may differ from unit to unit, but I can assure you it is original. No flaws, retrofitted. All new paint, all new imprints, polished side panels.
As mentioned paint finish is in beautiful condition with consistent color and with no major blemish damages. Backside board is excellent and even (stored in a dry environment, no bumbs or dents) with valve map fixed on inside surface. Interior is clean, no rust or oxidation.
For more information please take a close look at my pictures below and ask any question prior bidding.
Technical information:
- weight is approx 8 kg or 17,6 lb
- dimensions are approx: 50 x 25,5 x 18 cm / 19.7 x 10 x 7.1 inch
- can be operated on 110,125,150,220 and 240 Volt
- has a German power cord so an EU/UK/US/ASIA universal plug adapter is included
All features work. All switches and knobs work well (trebble, bass, etc.). The radio has some nice reception even without an external antenna.
An Ipod / MP3 adapter can be included with this beauty, simple "plug
& play" to listen your digital music through this device.
A truly design classic by Dieter Rams which is in many museum permanent collections, including MOMA.
Please see my other auctions for that and other Braun design classics.
BRAUN RT20 // DIETER RAMS (1932- present). "The clarity of form and minimalist design vocabulary associated with the German designer Dieter Rams is closely identified with the BRAUN Company. Many of his designs for domestic appliances and audio equipment feature in the permanent collections of leading museums that collect and promote design, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, in New York, which began to collect Braun products in 1958.
After studying architecture at the Wiesbaden Academy of Applied Arts from 1947 to 1953 he spent three years as an apprentice cabinetmaker. This was followed by a period in architectural offices until he joined Braun in 1955. Rams epitomized the clean, austere appearance associated with a functional aesthetic and with associate designer, Hans Gugelot. The Braun range won every international design prize going. At this time he was also involved in furniture development with the designer, physicist, and entrepreneur Otto Zapf (born 1931).
As Braun's design director (from1960), he was responsible for establishing a cleanly stated and distinctive aesthetic for a wide range of products from kitchen appliances to alarm clocks, calculators, lighters, and electric razors. This aesthetic was also in tune with the outlook of the Hochschule für Gestaltung (ULMER SCHOOL), a progressive design academy with links to Braun that had been first established in 1954. Other companies with which Rams has been associated include the furniture manufacturer Vitsoe (established 1959), the door handle manufacturer FSB (established 1881), and the lighting producer Tecnolumen (established 1980). His clearly articulated and austere “606-shelf” unit for Vitsoe (1960) remained in production for more than 40 years.
He has held a number of academic posts including, from 1981, a professorship in industrial design in Hamburg. In 1987 he became president of the German Rat-F-R-Formgebung (Design Council), which for many years had promoted the values associated with ideas of good design. In a recent design magazine (ICON), Rams is quoted as saying, ” As designers we have a great responsibility. I believe designers should eliminate the unnecessary. That means eliminating everything that is modish because this kind of thing is only short lived.”
Dieter Rams has received many international design awards throughout his career and his work is considered to be “design classics of the highest."
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