![Here we have a thin, boxy, rectangular grey-green plastic radio. The long, front side is made of vertical rows of speaker holes, shaped like thin bars. On the thin top side is a transparent window with numbers and red pointer and a small [BRAUN] logo. To the right side is a folded in metal telescopic antenna. There are six buttons below the window: three tan dials and three smaller, retractable buttons on the right in tan and one red. There is a thin metal handle with black plastic cover in the middle that floats above the top side. There are holes for plugs on left side.]( https://images.collection.cooperhewitt.org/161891_da35b75cc80a8cf7_b.jpg
"T 52 Clairtone Portable Radio")
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Object Timeline
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1961 |
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1986 |
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2024 |
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T 52 Clairtone Portable Radio
This is a Portable radio. It was designed by Dieter Rams and manufactured by Braun AG. It is dated 1961 and we acquired it in 1986. Its medium is molded plastic, metal. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.
In the years before radios were standard fixtures in automobile dashboards, Clairtone marketed Braun’s T 52 to North American consumers who were getting behind the wheel in unprecedented numbers to traverse newly constructed highway systems. The versatile device served double duty as both tabletop and car radio: it could be propped up by its carrying handle when stationary or locked into an optional car mount on-the-go.
This object was
donated by
Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor.
It is credited Gift of Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor.
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Our curators have highlighted 2 objects that are related to this one.
- TPS-L2 Walkman Portable Cassette Player And Headphones
- molded plastic, aluminum, steel, polyurethane, electronic components.
- Gift of Robert M. Greenberg.
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Its dimensions are
H x W x D: 5.8 x 22.8 x 14.5 cm (2 5/16 x 9 x 5 11/16 in.)
It has the following markings
Inside battery compartment: T52-Q13
Cite this object as
T 52 Clairtone Portable Radio; Designed by Dieter Rams (German, b. 1932); Manufactured by Braun AG (Germany); Germany; molded plastic, metal; H x W x D: 5.8 x 22.8 x 14.5 cm (2 5/16 x 9 x 5 11/16 in.); Gift of Barry Friedman and Patricia Pastor; 1986-99-23
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition The World of Radio.
