Kolster-Brandes Ltd was an American owned, British manufacturer of radio and television sets based in Foots Cray, Sidcup,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

History

The company was a descendant of ''Brandes'', a Canadian company founded in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

in 1908. Brandes became part of

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...

in 1922 and a British subsidiary ''Brandes Ltd.'' was established in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the ...

, in 1924, to manufacture headphones.The Setmakers by Keith Geddes and Gordon Bussey () The company rapidly expanded producing a range of loud speakers 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. K-B also began a long association with

Cunard Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Ber ...

after they won a contract to provide communications equipment for the

RMS Queen Mary RMS ''Queen Mary'' is a retired British ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard-White Star Line and was built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. ''Queen Mary'', along with ...

ocean liner. In 1938 K-B became part of

ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...

's British subsidiary STC. The Foots Cray site was also shared by Brimar, another STC company founded in 1933 to manufacture American pattern

valves A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...

for the British market. In 1960/61 STC took over Ace, Argosy, Regentone and RGD, and then in 1968 the KB logo name changed to ITT KB, and between 1973 and 1974 the KB was dropped from the logo and sets were only made under the

label.

Products

Kolster-Brandes later went on to make mid-range electronics such as radios, radiograms, televisions, tape recorders,

amplifiers An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost th ...

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

{{Authority control Electronics companies of the United Kingdom Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom Radio manufacturers