I was happy when I found these photos of the Telefunken Match transistor radio in the archive on the Delft University of Technology website. When transistor radios first came out in the mid 1950s, they were considered a status symbol. The very first one, the Texas Instruments Regency TR-1, cost more than 350 dollars by today’s standards.
Telefunken Match Transistor Radio 1963
When buying electric products, a compromise is likely unavoidable. I feel this way with electronics more than with most other products. This is partly because you never really know what’s inside the shell, and often the shell doesn’t look or feel good to begin with. It usually doesn’t help that they are made out of one of my least favorite materials – plastic.
Braun Micron (5410), 1976
George Nelson Flip Clock
What is the crowning glory of your civilization… the symbol as clear a statement as the pyramids, the Parthenon, the cathedrals? What is this symbol? What is its name?
Its name is Junk.
Junk is the rusty, lovely, brilliant symbol of the dying years of your time. Junk is your ultimate landscape. – George Nelson, 1965
George Nelson Design for Herman Miller Clock Company, Circa 1950
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