Braun Design Collection, About 1,000 Pieces
Archived listing from the original vintage-amplifier.com. Prices, seller details and purchase links have been removed; this page is a reference record, and nothing here is for sale. About this archive.
The BRAUN design collection consists of approx. 1000 different pieces, mainly from the years between 1955 and 1985. It is probably one of the most complete private BRAUN design collections of this period.
The collection shows how Dieter Rams und the BRAUN Design Department, starting from 1955, managed to give technology a clear shape (form follows function), wrapping it in modern materials. The domestic appliances in particular reveal the impact of “BRAUN Design” on other designers and their product engineering. The collection is either suited for a private collector or a design or technical museum. The innovative aspect becomes evident especially by comparing it with the technical products of other manufacturers of the same time period. Dieter Rams can be regarded as one of the best and most influential designers of the 20 century.
About the BRAUN Design Collection
The collection was created between 1979 and 1981 during my studies of architecture. In 1991 it was joined with a second collection in order to choose the best among 200 double items. Since 2010 the collection has been further extended. Most of the pieces are in a good or very good state even though the function of the devices has not been tested as most of them have been standing idle for more than 30 years.
Braun Collection Catalog shows only part of the collection as it was issued about 20 years ago. However, the list of items and the pictures of the storage facilities are up to date. The collection is completed by numerous brochures, manuals, posters, books, spare parts and so on. There are also some devices from the years before 1955, just to show that at that time they did not differ a lot from the products of other manufacturers.
About this model
Not a single amplifier but a whole collection: about a thousand Braun pieces, mainly from 1955 to 1985, assembled by an architecture student between 1979 and 1981 and extended later. The original post was an advertisement for it; we have removed the asking price and contact details.
The period it covers is Braun's design high point. Wikipedia dates the SK 4 radiogram, nicknamed "Snow White's Coffin", to 1956, with Dieter Rams among its young designers; Rams later became Braun's head of design and retired in 1995. The audio division was spun off in 1981 and made its last audio set in 1990.
The archive's other German pieces, Telefunken and Loewe tubes, are grouped with the British amplifiers on the Britain and Europe page.
| Maker | Braun, Germany |
|---|---|
| Contents | About 1,000 pieces, mainly 1955–1985 (listing) |
| Assembled | 1979–1981, extended since 2010 (listing) |
| Designer associated | Dieter Rams (head of design until 1995) |
Questions collectors ask
When did Braun stop making audio equipment?
Its audio division was spun off in 1981 and made its last audio set in 1990, according to Wikipedia.
Who was Dieter Rams?
The designer most associated with Braun's modern style; he worked on the 1956 SK 4 and later led Braun's design department until 1995.
Sources: Wikipedia: Braun (company).
