Kolster-Brandes
Kolster-Brandes Ltd was an American owned, British manufacturer of radio and television sets based in Foots Cray, Sidcup, Kent.
History
The company was a descendant of Brandes, a Canadian company founded in Toronto in 1908. Brandes became part of AT&T in 1922 and a British subsidiary Brandes Ltd. was established in Slough, in 1924, to manufacture headphones.[1] The company rapidly expanded producing a range of loudspeakers and in 1928 moved to a former silk mill at Foots Cray. The company was renamed Kolster-Brandes Ltd. after the American parent company merged with the Kolster Radio Corporation. In 1930 the company supplied 40,000 of its Masterpiece two-valve, bakelite cabinet radios to the Godfrey Phillips tobacco company, who gave them away to customers in exchange for cigarette coupons.[1] K-B also began a long association with Cunard after they won a contract to provide communications equipment for the RMS Queen Mary ocean liner. In 1938 K-B became part of ITT's British subsidiary STC.[1] The Foots Cray site was also shared by Brimar, another STC company founded in 1933 to manufacture American pattern valves for the British market.[2]
Products
Kolster-Brandes later went on to make mid-range electronics such as radios, radiograms, televisions, tape recorders, amplifiers and gramophones.
KB made a large number of radios and radiograms, a few models of which were the 285, 422 Cavalcade, 666 and the CG20.
The company also made a popular selection of record players which include the Playtime, Gaytime, Dancetime, Tunetime and Rhythm, the last two of which are valve operated.
References
- ^ a b c The Setmakers by Keith Geddes and Gordon Bussey (ISBN 0951704206)
- ^ http://www.stlqcc.org.uk/docs/milestones.htm