Company:Brionvega

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Short description: Italian electronics company
Brionvega
TypePrivate
IndustryConsumer electronics
PredecessorB.P.M. Radio
Vega BP Radio
Founded1945 (1945)
FounderGiuseppe Brion (it)
Onorina Tomasin-Brion
Leone Pajetta
Headquarters
Pordenone
,
Italy
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsTelevision sets, Radiograms, Phonographs, Radios
Websitebrionvega.it
brionvega.tv
Model 514 "radiovega" table radio (1950s)
WearIT TS 217 bluetooth speaker designed by Michael Young (2015)

Brionvega is an Italian electronics company that is known for manufacturing futuristic television sets and audio equipment, its contributions to post-second world war technological and social advancement in Italian industry, collaborations with well known industrial designers and architects, and its impact on the aesthetics of 1960s Italian design.

History

The company was founded in 1945 in Milan by Giuseppe Brion (it) (who had previously worked at Phonola (it) and Radiomarelli (it)), Onorina Tomasin-Brion, and Leone Pajetta. Initially named B.P.M. Radio, then changed to Vega BP Radio, and finally "BRIONVEGA", when the company was rebranded in 1963.[1]

In 1954 Brionvega introduced the first Italian made television sets after entering into a contract with the country's national broadcaster RAI.[1]

In the early 1960s Brionvega began working with notable architects and industrial designers including Franco Albini, Sergio Asti, Rodolfo Bonetto (it), brothers Achille, Livio, and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Mario Bellini, Richard Sapper, and Marco Zanuso.[2] These collaborations resulted in a decade of design innovation and the introduction of products such as the Algol 11 and Doney 14[Note 1] television sets, TS 502 "Cubo" radio, the RR 126 (it) radiogram, which was introduced in 1966, followed by the "Cubo" television in 1969.[3][4][5][6]

The designs that the company manufactured during this period were recognised in their time with awards such as the Compasso d'Oro and Biennale of Design (BIO),[7][8][9] and have since become regarded as icons of 1960s Italian design.[10][11] Alba Cappellieri writing for Domus magazine stated that, "You could write a telling history of Italian post-war industrial design almost entirely through the products of Brionvega".[1]

In more recent decades, the company continued its practice of collaboration with acclaimed designers including Ettore Sottsass, Michael Young,[12] and Hannes Wettstein (de),[13] periodically introducing new products such as the Alpha LCD television, presented at Salone del Mobile in 2007, and the WearIt portable speaker in 2016.[Note 2][14][15][16] An updated version of the original Cubo television was produced in 1992 with the same exterior casing and updated electronics.[Note 2][17] Two of the other 1960s products, the Doney and Algol television sets, were also re-issued in limited edition runs.[18] The TS 502 portable radio and the RR 126 radiogram have both been re-issued and updated in several different versions.[19][20]

In 1992, the Brion family sold the company to Italian electronics manufacturer Sèleco (which was subsequently acquired by Industrie Formenti (it) in 1998,[1] and eventually declared bankrupt in 2004).[21] Brionvega has gone through several changes of ownership since,[Note 3] and as of 2022 was still active marketing re-editions of the designs from its 1960s and 1970s heyday, as well as some more recent products.[22][23]

Many of the company's products are held in museum collections including the ADI Design Museum in Milan, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Victoria and Albert in London, the Powerhouse Museum (Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences) in Sydney, and the Cooper Hewitt and Museum of Modern Art in New York.[3][24][25][26][27][28]

The University of Parma holds a large collection of archival material relating to the company including sketches, drawings, prototypes, examples of Brionvega products, brochures and advertising materials.[2] The National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan also holds a number of Brionvega products in its collection.[Note 4]

In 2016 a Brionvega RR 126 radiogram once owned by the singer David Bowie was sold by Sotheby's in London for £257,000.[29][30]

Gallery

Designer

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Designed by Richard Sapper and Marco Zanuso
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
  3. ↑ Designed by Mario Bellini
  4. ↑ Designed by Sergio Asti
  5. ↑ Designed by Richard Sapper

Notes

  1. ↑ The metadata embedded in the photograph of the Brionvega Algol 11 in this article's "Gallery" section makes the claim that: "The first transistor television in Europe was the Doney 14 designed by Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper for Brionvega in 1962..." [[[Social:Italian language|Italian]]: Il primo televisore a transitor in Europa si ebbe nel 1962 su progetto di Marco Zanuso e Richard Sapper per la Brionvega, era il Doney 14...] (See "Notizie storico-critiche" from the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci included in the metadata of object photograph.)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 No longer in production (March 2023).
  3. ↑ Companies mentioned in various sources as owners of the brand include: SIM 2 Multimedia, spa; Super//Fluo; and BV 2 srl, Milano. (Better sources needed.)
  4. ↑ Many of the photographs in the "Gallery" section of this article are from the museum's collection and include detailed information about the objects (in Italian).
  5. ↑ First released in 1963, while the second series (pictured) was designed in 1966 with FM tuning scale up to 108 MHz, and again updated in 1978. There was also an "export" version of the TS 502 which included long-wave reception. The 2007 re-issue was called the TS 522. (See "Notizie storico-critiche" from the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci included in the metadata of object photographs.)

Publications

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Cappellieri, Alba. "Brionvega. A brief history of the black box" (in en-gb). https://www.domusweb.it/en/design/2002/10/21/brionvega-a-brief-history-of-the-black-box.html. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Collezione Musei" (in it). http://samha207.unipr.it/samirafe/loadcard.do?id_card=32304&force=1. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "DONEY" (in en-US). https://www.adidesignmuseum.org/en/schede/doney/. 
  4. ↑ "Marco Zanuso, Richard Sapper. Radio (model TS 502). 1963 | MoMA" (in en). https://www.moma.org/collection/works/4034. 
  5. ↑ "Marco Zanuso, Richard Sapper. Doney 14 Television Set. 1962 | MoMA" (in en). https://www.moma.org/collection/works/4028. 
  6. ↑ "Marco Zanuso, Richard Sapper. Algol 11 Black and White Television. 1964 | MoMA" (in en). https://www.moma.org/collection/works/4112. 
  7. ↑ "Ljubljana Biennale of Design (BIO) – About BIO". http://www.bio.si/about. [yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
  8. ↑ "RR 130 FO/ST "Totem" – Mario Bellini Architects" (in it-IT). https://bellini.it/portfolio-articoli/rr-130-fo-st-totem/. 
  9. ↑ "Brion Rina, Cavaliere del Lavoro". https://www.quirinale.it/onorificenze/insigniti/608. 
  10. ↑ "Radio TS502" (in en-US). https://www.museoomero.it/en/opere/radio-ts502/. 
  11. ↑ Salis, Stefano (2021-09-07). "C'era una volta l'icona Perché ora è difficile avere oggetti di culto" (in it). https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/c-era-volta-l-icona-perche-ora-e-difficile-avere-oggetti-culto-AENiaVX. 
  12. ↑ "Brionvega: Industrial Design HK: Bluetooth Speaker" (in en). 2015-11-11. https://www.michael-young.com/wearit/. 
  13. ↑ "Brionvega Designers: Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper, Michael Young, Ettore Sottsass, Mario Bellini, Hannes Wettstein". 2021-06-18. https://brionvega.com/it/design/designer.html. 
  14. ↑ Morris, Ali (2015-11-11). "Sound solution: Michael Young teams up with Brionvega to create a smart speaker" (in en). https://www.wallpaper.com/design/sound-solution-michael-young-teams-with-brionvega-to-create-a-smart-speaker. 
  15. ↑ "Michael Young designs portable WearIt speakers for Brionvega" (in en). 2015-11-10. https://www.dezeen.com/2015/11/10/michael-young-portable-brionvega-wearit-speaker-miniature-satchel/. 
  16. ↑ Colturri, Fabio (2020-06-08). "Brionvega's Alpha Television by V12 Design" (in en-US). https://designwanted.com/brionvegas-alpha-television-by-v12-design/. 
  17. ↑ "Cuboglass TV History". brionvega.it. http://www.brionvega.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=64&Itemid=64&lang=en. 
  18. ↑ "2008 Brionvega reissues". brionvega.tv. http://www.brionvega.tv/events.php?h=2008. 
  19. ↑ Delisi, Alessia (2022-12-16). "La radio Cubo di Brionvega, icona intramontabile oggi in versione tecnologica". https://www.ad-italia.it/gallery/la-radio-cubo-di-brionvega-icona-intramontabile-storia/. 
  20. ↑ "TS502 (first version) Radio Vega, BP Radio, Brionvega, Brion & Pajetta". https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/brionvega_ts502_ts522.html. 
  21. ↑ "Seleco ammessa alla" (in it). https://ricerca.gelocal.it/messaggeroveneto/archivio/messaggeroveneto/2004/12/30/PN_02_PNB1.html. 
  22. ↑ Bell, Jonathan (2022-01-05). "Brionvega's Mario Bellini reissue is the ultimate 1970s hi-fi design" (in en). https://www.wallpaper.com/technology/brionvega-rr231-totem-mario-bellini-reissue. 
  23. ↑ French, Ian (2022-01-24). "Brionvega updates Totem stereo system for its 50th anniversary" (in en-US). https://www.decodedmagazine.com/brionvega-updates-its-totem-stereo-system-for-its-50th-anniversary/. 
  24. ↑ "Brionvega, Pompidou Centre Collection". https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/recherche?terms=brionvega. 
  25. ↑ "Brionvega, V&A collection" (in en). https://www.vam.ac.uk/search?q=brionvega. 
  26. ↑ "Algol 11 before Apollo 11: Sapper and Zanuso's TV Set for Brionvega | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum" (in en-US). 2017-03-06. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2017/03/06/algol-11-before-apollo-11-sapper-and-zanusos-tv-set-for-brionvega/. 
  27. ↑ "Mario Bellini. Totem Stereo System with Detachable Speakers (model RR 130). 1970 | MoMA" (in en). https://www.moma.org/collection/works/1803. 
  28. ↑ "Brionvega Cubo television by Mario Bellini and Design Centre Brionvega" (in en). https://collection.maas.museum/object/548774. 
  29. ↑ Svetlik, Joe (2016-11-15). "Home" (in en). https://www.whathifi.com/news/david-bowies-custom-made-brionvega-turntable-sells-ps257000. 
  30. ↑ Gleadell, Colin (2016-07-14). "David Bowie's Art Collection to Be Auctioned" (in en-US). https://news.artnet.com/market/basquiat-leads-david-bowie-collection-sale-556757. 

External links



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