Dieter Rams and Hans Gugelot, SK 5 Phonosuper Radiogram Braun AG Germany, 1958
View Similar Items
Dieter Rams and Hans Gugelot, SK 5 Phonosuper Radiogram Braun AG Germany, 1958
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 9.5 in (24.13 cm)Width: 23 in (58.42 cm)Depth: 11.5 in (29.21 cm)
- Style:Minimalist (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1958
- Condition:Additions or alterations made to the original: We have installed a new shaft dial with the correct diameter size for US electrical. We will also swap out with the original if sold back to Europe. Has original EU plug and will include a plug converter for normal function on US electric. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5468229508392
Dieter Rams
German industrial designer Dieter Rams is revered for the pared-down, intuitive electronics and consumer goods he created for Braun — where he worked from 1955 to 1997, most of that time as chief design officer — and his timeless furniture for Vitsœ, a company with which he continues to collaborate today.
Less well known are Rams’s longstanding focus on sustainability and uneasy relationship with contemporary technology, even as Silicon Valley designers like Apple’s Jonathan Ive follow in his rational footsteps.
During Germany’s postwar rebuilding period, Rams and his team of designers at Braun, inspired by the Bauhaus and the Ulm School of Design, focused on extreme simplicity and usability while conceiving products with a modern, forward-looking appearance.
Among Rams’s most iconic designs is the SK 4 phonograph and radio, created in 1956, which had a compact white metal case topped by a revolutionary-at-the-time transparent Plexiglas lid that revealed simple gray controls inside (it was nicknamed Snow White’s Coffin). But it is the T3 portable radio, from 1958, that gets design aficionados most excited today: A white rectangular box with a perforated square for the speaker and a circular-dial control, it bears an unmistakable resemblance to Apple’s original iPod. (Many people also note that the iPhone’s calculator app looks remarkably similar to the Braun ET 66 calculator, with its circular color-coded buttons.)
In the late 1970s, Rams laid out his widely studied 10 principles for good design: It is innovative, makes a product useful, is aesthetic, makes a product understandable, is unobtrusive, is honest, is long lasting, is thorough down to the last detail, is environmentally friendly and is as little design as possible.
One of Rams’s principles that hasn’t translated to our contemporary era is his emphasis on longevity. “The time of thoughtless design and thoughtless consumption is over,” he said in 1976, stressing the need to conserve natural resources — even as he was busy designing plastic products.
Rams has also expressed reservations about how electronics have evolved in recent decades from tools for improving life to time-sucking obsessions. “Every time he crosses a street and sees people glued to their phones, he just can’t conceive of how we got to this point,” says filmmaker Gary Hustwit, whose feature-length documentary on Rams debuted in 2018. “I think he’s a little bit saddened by all this work they did in the fifties and sixties, which had a very idealistic point of view, being a stepping stone to where we are now, and the current lust for technology.”
If digital devices sometimes seem to be making life more complicated, Rams’s precept remains the same as always: “Back to purity, back to simplicity.”
Find vintage Dieter Rams furniture on 1stDibs.
- Vintage Swedish Topographic School Map of European Alps, Made in Sweden 1922Located in Los Angeles, CAVintage Swedish Topographic School map of European Alps, Made in Sweden 1922 This vintage Swedish school map is so unique and a great example of why these are so collectible. W...Category
Vintage 1920s Swedish Maps
MaterialsLinen, Wood, Paper
- Vintage Swedish School Map of Europe, Large, Made in Sweden, 1905Located in Los Angeles, CAVintage Swedish School Map of Europe - LARGE - Made in Sweden, 1905 This vintage Swedish school map is so unique and a great example of why these are so collectible. Wooden pol...Category
Antique Early 1900s Swedish Maps
MaterialsLinen, Wood, Paper
- Vintage Swedish School Map of Vastergötland, Made in Sweden 1920Located in Los Angeles, CAVintage Swedish School Map of Vastergötland, Made in Sweden 1920 Västergötland also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the...Category
Vintage 1920s Swedish Maps
MaterialsLinen, Wood, Paper
- Hans J Wegner "GE236/4" Sofa by GETAMA in Original Patched Leather Denmark 1950sBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Los Angeles, CAHans J Wegner "GE236/4" sofa by GETAMA in original patched leather, Denmark, 1950s Hans J Wegner "GE236 / 4" sofa - by GETAMA in original patched leather upholstery - Denmark 1950...Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsTeak, Leather
$5,250 Sale Price30% Off - Alestalon Mattokutomo, Golden and Blue Finnish Flat-Weave Rug, Finland, 1950sBy Alestalon MattokutomoLocated in Los Angeles, CAAlestalon Mattokutomo - golden and blue Finnish flat-weave rug, Finland, 1950s Handmade flat-weave by Alestalon Mottokutom, this exquisite and rare piece has a golden table of Cla...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Russian and Scandinavian Rugs
MaterialsWool, Linen
$4,550 Sale Price30% Off - Oak Folding Stool Model 203 Uno and Östen Kristiansson - Luxus Vittsjö, SwedenBy Luxus Vittsjö, Uno & Östen KristianssonLocated in Los Angeles, CAOak Folding Stool Model 203 Uno and Östen Kristiansson - Luxus Vittsjö, Sweden Swedish ‘model 203’ oak foldable stool from the 1950s, designed by Uno & Östen Kristiansson and prod...Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Stools
MaterialsLeather, Oak
- Hans Gugelot designed radio for Braun, 1955By Braun, Hans GugelotLocated in Los Angeles, CARadio "Super" G11 by Swiss designer Hans Gugelot for Braun in 1955. Braun is of course well known for their iconic, Dieter Rams designed, audio equipment. This piece is not tested, w...Category
Vintage 1950s German Mid-Century Modern Musical Instruments
MaterialsPlastic, Wood
- German modern metal and plastic table lighter T2 by Dieter Rams for Braun, 1970sBy Braun, Dieter RamsLocated in MIlano, ITGerman modern metal and plastic table lighter T2 by Dieter Rams for Braun, 1970s Cylindrical table lighter mod. T2 in knurled metal. The flame supp...Category
Vintage 1970s German Modern Tobacco Accessories
MaterialsMetal
- Braun Audio wall mounted audio system designed by Dieter RamsBy Dieter Rams, BraunLocated in Los Angeles, CABraun wall mounted audio system designed by Dieter Rams for Braun, 1960's/70's. Equip with Braun Audio 300/310, L46 wall speakers, and vintage Vitsoe shelf/e-tracks. Everything incl...Category
Late 20th Century German Industrial Musical Instruments
MaterialsMetal, Aluminum
- Mid 20th Century Modern Table lighter by Dieter Rams for BraunBy Braun, Dieter RamsLocated in Brugge, BE1968-1970 Germany Brushed metal 8.5cm high, 5.5cm diameter Dieter Rams, born in 1932, is a renowned German industrial designer closely associated with Braun, Vitsœ, and the funct...Category
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Tobacco Accessories
MaterialsMetal
$248 Sale Price25% Off - LECSON AP1 Power Amplifier and AC1 Pre-Amp, hi-fi quad 33/303 braun dieter ramsBy Donald JuddLocated in London, GBLecson AP1 Power Amplifier and AC1 Pre-Amplifier Designed 1972 by Allen Boothroyd, this design won the 1974 Design Council Award. Good condition, fully working and ready to enjoy -...Category
Vintage 1980s British Minimalist Musical Instruments
MaterialsMetal
- Dieter Rams The Complete WorksLocated in New York City, NYThe ultimate reference on one of the most influential product designers of all time For more than sixty years Dieter Rams has defined the look, feel, and function of some of the w...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Books
MaterialsPaper
$60 / item