Simply legendary: the unique success story of Thonet`s original

Press Release
Frankenberg/Germany, June 2015
Simply legendary: the unique success story of Thonet’s original Vienna Coffee
House Chair 2014
New in our programme: the “Pure Materials” version in natural ash wood
According to legend, the following incident happened during the World Exhibition in Paris in
1867: Michael Thonet’s chair no. 14 fell from the Eiffel Tower 57 metres to the ground – and
survived the fall. The robustness of the chair – proven by more than just this remarkable
incident – combined with its elegant, no-frills form and the revolutionary possibility for serial
production contributed greatly to the unparalleled success of this chair. In 1862, the coffee
house chair, known today as model 214, won the bronze medal at the London World Exhibition
and the gold medal at the Paris World Exhibition in 1867. By 1930, Thonet had sold 50 million
chairs; to this day, the world’s most famous chair continues to fascinate. Over the decades
Thonet has produced many different versions of this piece of furniture – most recently, in the
beginning of 2015, the chair no. 214 was for the first time brought to market in the “Pure
Materials” collection in regional ash wood.
Revolutionary in many aspects – a milestone of design history
The success story of chair no. 14 began in 1841 with an invitation from the Austrian House, Court and
State Chancellor Clemens Prince Metternich, who had heard of Michael Thonet’s experiments with
bent wood and invited the young man from Boppard in the Rhineland region to Vienna. Thonet soon
succeeded in bending solid wood as well: long wooden rods were made flexible with pressure and
steam and then bent into the desired form with special equipment and muscle power. The threedimensional forming of solid wood was a sensation at the time. Soon, orders for the Palais
Liechtenstein and the Palais Schwarzenberg followed. Today’s iconic 214 quickly became a symbol of
the Vienna coffee house culture. However, the chair’s enormous success was due not only to the
constantly growing project business but also the innovative production process, which for the first time
enabled the industrial serial production of chairs. It was a veritable milestone in the history of furniture
production. Chair no. 14 could be produced in a work-sharing process and fully disassembled into just
six elements. 36 chairs could be packed in a one cubic metre box, shipped to anywhere in the world
and assembled on site. The history of modern furniture was underway. To this day, the original coffee
house chair with model number 214 (formerly no. 14) is still produced by Thonet GmbH in
Frankenberg, Hesse.
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Press Release
Frankenberg/Germany, June 2015
How to keep an icon alive – for example, with special materials
From the beginning, the chair was further developed by Michael Thonet and later by his descendants.
Most recently, for example, a collection of simplified typified Thonet icons in tubular steel and
bentwood was developed in cooperation with the Japanese trading company Muji, including an
interpretation of the chair 214, designed by James Irvine (2008). In the beginning of 2015, the
company presented its bentwood classic for the first time in the “Pure Materials” collection. The ash
wood from regional forests used for this especially sustainable product line is intentionally only
minimally treated, making the structure of the material a visual and haptic experience; individual hints
of use appear after some time. The frames are available in a light oiled version or in a dark stained
version refined with a protective natural wood lacquer coating. The seat also reacts with noticeable
traces of use in the “Pure Materials” collection. In particular, the version with the naturally tanned
quality leather “Olive Galicia” develops its very own patina over the course of time. Depending on the
customer’s preference, the model from the new collection is also available with the classic wicker cane
or netting.
A glance is enough: the original is literally branded!
By the way, a glance is enough to see whether you are holding a genuine 214 in your hands. On the
bottom of the seat frame of every Thonet chair – historical and contemporary – has a branded signet
of the company with the production year. Newer models can also be identified by the trapezoid seat.
Thonet replaced the original round seat in 1960 with this clearly more comfortable version.
Thonet press contact international
neumann
Claudia Neumann, Anne Polch, Hanna Reif
Eigelstein 103-113
50668 Köln
Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 221 – 91 39 49 0
Fax +49 (0) 221 – 91 39 49 19
E-mail thonet@neumann-communication.de
Thonet GmbH
Susanne Korn
Michael-Thonet-Straße 1
35066 Frankenberg
Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 6451 – 508 160
Fax +49 (0) 6451 – 508 168
E-mail susanne.korn@thonet.de
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Press Release
Frankenberg/Germany, June 2015
Thonet press contact in the UK
Thonet contact in the UK
QuickStep PR
Stephanie Bretherton
Unit 405 United House
North Road
London N7 9DP
United Kingdom
Tel. +44 (0) 20 – 7609 1151
E-mail stephanie@qspr.com
Crest Contracts
Harriet Knight
Tel. +44 (0) 845 – 299 3491
E-mail greatbritain@thonet.de
We would be happy to receive any article you may publish.
Thonet – future-oriented furniture design with a long tradition
The unique success story of Thonet began with the work of master carpenter Michael Thonet. Since establishing his first
workshop in Boppard on the River Rhine in 1819, the name Thonet has stood for high-quality, innovative and elegant
furniture. The breakthrough came with the iconic chair no. 14, the so-called Vienna coffee house chair: the pioneering
technique of bending solid beech wood for the first time enabled the mass production chairs. The second milestone in
design history was the tubular steel furniture by the famous Bauhaus architects Mart Stam, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
and Marcel Breuer in the 1930s. At the time, Thonet was the world’s largest producer of these tubular steel furniture
designs, which are considered timeless today.
For the company today, the continuous process of innovation stands in the foreground alongside a focus on tradition and
fine craftsmanship. Thonet collaborates with renowned national and international designers – in addition, some of the
furniture is designed by the in-house Thonet Design Team. All of the furniture is produced in the company-owned
manufacturing facility, and, following the motto “Individuality is our standard”, custom-tailored solutions are part of
everyday life in Frankenberg. Thorsten Muck is the Managing Director of Thonet GmbH at the corporate head offices and
production site Frankenberg/Eder (Germany). The descendants of Michael Thonet, the fifth and sixth generations, are
actively involved with the company’s business as partners and sales managers.
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