Essential Design 
9 January 2025
Essential Design 
275

Dieter Rams

LE 1 electrostatic loudspeakers, pair

Braun AG
Germany, 1959 / 2021
enameled aluminum and steel 30 h × 32¼ w × 12½ d in (76 × 82 × 32 cm)
estimate: $3,000–5,000
result: $12,700
follow artist
own a similar item?
free evaluation

Metal and decal distributor's labels to reverse of each example ‘Max Braun Frankfurt a.M. Typ: LE1 Made in Germany’ and 'LE 1 Electrostatic Loudspeaker QUAD Designed by Dieter Rams’. Sold with original packaging for one example. Printed distributor's mark to original packaging ‘QUAD Electrostatic Loudspeaker’.
literature: Dieter Rams: Less but Better, Gestalten, pg. 37 Dieter Rams: As Little as Possible, Lovell, pg. 37 pg. 276-277
An example of this design is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

This work will ship from Lambertville, New Jersey.

print

It is difficult to improve morals. But it would be a tremendous achievement if we could improve thinking. Design is first and foremost a thinking process.

Dieter Rams

Dieter Rams b. 1932

follow artist

Dieter Rams is one of the most influential industrial designers of the 20th century known for his dedication to precise and orderly design. Born in Wiesbaden, Germany in 1932, he was profoundly influenced by the work of his grandfather, a carpenter. At sixteen he began courses in interior design followed by a three-year carpentry internship. In 1953, he joined Otto Apel’s architecture office in Frankfurt where he collaborated with Skidmore, Owings and Merril on the planning of the U.S. Consulate buildings in West Germany. Shortly thereafter he was recruited by the German consumer electronics manufacturer Braun in 1955. In 1956, in collaboration with mentors from the Ulm School of Design, his design which displayed the mechanics of the SK4 radio and record player through transparent plastic put his design work on the map.

Auction Results Dieter Rams

Dieter Rams

Hi-Fi Wall Unit stereo system

estimate: $3,000–5,000

result: $23,760

Dieter Rams

Stereo

estimate: $2,000–3,000

result: $13,750

Dieter Rams

606 Universal Shelving System

estimate: $3,000–5,000

result: $8,820

Dieter Rams

First generation 620 sofa

estimate: $3,000–5,000

result: $8,450
275