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]
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]
^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..." [[[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.)
^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.)
^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).
^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.)
![TS 502 "Cubo" Series II radio (1963)[Note 5][a]](/en/File:Radioricevitore_a_transistor,_portatile_-_Museo_scienza_tecnologia_Milano_10074.jpg)
![Algol 11 portable television (1964)[a]](/en/File:Televisore_a_transistor,_bianco_e_nero,_portatile,_11_pollici_-_Museo_scienza_tecnologia_Milano_09703.jpg)
![RR126 radiogram (1966)[b]](/en/File:Stereokombination_RR_126.jpg)
![Doney 12 portable television (1967)[a]](/en/File:Televisore_a_transistor,_bianco_e_nero,_portatile,_12_pollici_-_Museo_scienza_tecnologia_Milano_11218.jpg)
![Doney television (rear view)[a]](/en/File:Televisore_a_transistor,_bianco_e_nero,_portatile,_12_pollici_-_Museo_scienza_tecnologia_Milano_09700_01.jpg)
![FD 1101 Analog Piped Radio receiver (1967)[b]](/en/File:Ricevitore_per_filodiffusione_a_transistor_-_Museo_scienza_tecnologia_Milano_09711.jpg)
![Volans 17 television (1968)[c]](/en/File:Televisore_a_transistor,_bianco_e_nero,_portatile,_17_pollici_-_Museo_scienza_tecnologia_Milano_09704.jpg)
![Black ST201 (1969)[a]](/en/File:Televisore_a_transistor,_bianco_e_nero,_portatile,_12_pollici_-_Museo_scienza_tecnologia_Milano_10826.jpg)
![Pally television (1973)[d]](/en/File:BRIONVEGA_Tv_color_Pally,_1973.jpg)
![Soundbook portable radio cassette player (1974)[e]](/en/File:Radioregistratore_a_musicassette,_a_transistor_-_Museo_scienza_tecnologia_Milano_10088_dia.jpg)
