Thonet Bentwood Chair History

An original older model the schaukel fauteuil no.

Thonet bentwood chair history.

1 or rocking chair no. The no 18 chair was launched in 1876 one of a group of chairs with back inserts consisting of curves and loops of bentwood. Among thonet s most popular designs were those of café chairs rocking chairs and hat stands. Classic furniture in bent wood and tubular steel.

1 produced in 1890 in koritschan moravia would have shorter armrests and less. The name thonet quickly became synonymous with a high standard of exquisite craftsmanship and thonet s bentwood products soon joined the ranks of the most famous and most imitated furniture. Michael thonet and his sons set up a bentwood furniture factory in bystřice pod hostýnem. They were exhibited at the great exhibition of 1851 in london and were sold in vast quantities throughout europe and the united states for the rest of the century.

Today however a variety of chairs and stools are part of our product range. It all began with the bentwood chair. Michael thonet an austrian cabinetmaker working in vienna experimented with designs based on birch rods bent into curvilinear shapes his bentwood chairs are among the most successful examples of early mass produced furniture. As to whether or not you can tell the age of your chair.

A brief history of thonet bentwood chairs. The origin of the bentwood or thonet chair from the 19th to the 20th century. Which states that your chair is probably a reproduction. Michael thonet s death on march 3 1871 may have marked the end of an era but it did not stop the thonet family from continuing research and experimentation.

Rizzoli new york 1997 isbn 0 8478 2040 8. 11 9 99 alexander von vegesack. Bentwood chairs are certainly the most recognizable and one of the most established chairs that have ever been produced. American craft december 1990.

In 1830 michael thonet began experimenting with what was soon to be known as bentwood furniture and it was not long before thonet and his sons were producing this furniture on an industrial scale. His solid bentwood furniture never out of production was again made fashionable in the 1920s by the renowned modern architect and designer le corbusier the utilitarian chairs mass produced at low prices were seen all over the western world and shown in the paintings of such artists as toulouse. 18 one of the first models which was produced here and is still a part of our portfolio today. During the 1860s the thonet bentwood chairs were popular among many fashionable cafes in vienna and these days similar bentwood products can be found in homes workspaces cafes hotels and restaurants.

An authentic original thonet tone ette bentwood rocker would not have a made in poland on it anywhere.