Basic press text

Frankenberg/Eder, January 2011

Thonet – A pioneer of furniture history

Content

1. The history of Thonet

1.1. From woodworking shop to industrial production: Thonet bentwood

furniture

1.2. A new material from the spirit of modernism: Thonet tubular steel furniture

1.3. Timeless products for living and contract furniture: Thonet furniture today

1.4. An overview of the history of Thonet

2. Thonet: brand, facts, data

2.1. The company and Thonet brand

2.2. Selected references

3. Thonet and culture

3.1. The Museum Thonet

3.2. Publications and exhibition catalogues about Thonet

3.2.1. Reference books

3.2.2. Exhibition catalogues

Basic press text, page 2
Frankenberg/Eder, January 2011

1. The history of Thonet

The unique success story of Thonet began with the work of master joiner Michael
Thonet (1796-1871). Since he founded his first workshop in Boppard/Rhine in 1819,
the name Thonet has stood for high-quality, innovative and elegant furniture for
the home as well as public buildings. Today, Peter Thonet – direct descendent of
Michael Thonet – is running the family company at the corporate headquarters and
production facilities in Frankenberg/Eder. Famous bentwood furniture and tubular steel
classics from the Bauhaus era are complimented by modern designs from renowned
contemporary architects and designers.

1.1. From woodworking shop to industrial production: Thonet bentwood

furniture

Michael Thonet‘s work is synonymous with the transition from craftsmanship to

industrial furniture production. In his workshop in Boppard/Rhine, which he founded
in 1819, Michael Thonet experimented with innovative wood bending techniques. The
first designs made of bent plywood date back to 1830. Duke Metternich gained an
interest in Michael Thonet‘s talent and invited him to Vienna in 1842. There, Thonet
played a decisive role in the furnishing of, among others, the Palais Lichtenstein,
Palais Schwarzenberg, and Café Daum.

Michael Thonet had his breakthrough towards industrial production in 1859 with
chair No.14, which was later called „Vienna coffee house chair,“ and employed
the innovative technique of bending solid beech wood. The work stages were
standardized for mass production and the concept of the division of labour was applied
to furniture production for the first time. In addition, the chair was easily disassembled
and could be transported in a very space saving way. All of the above enabled an
attractive price for the modern chair, and the No.14 became a coveted mass produced
item. Nearly 60 million
chairs have been sold to date – leaving aside the innumerable plagiarized versions.

In the 19th century, the chair No.14 paved the way towards Thonet becoming a
global enterprise. Numerous bentwood designs followed. Some models also became
icons of design history: the rocking chair No.1 from 1860, later in the 19th century
the successful models No.18 and No.56, around 1900 the elegant chair No.209 with
its curved armrests, which Le Corbusier adored, and the art nouveau armchair 247
by Otto Wagner, the so-called „postal savings bank chair,“ in 1904, to name but a
few. Thonet production peaked in 1912, when two million different products were
manufactured and sold worldwide.
Basic press text, page 3
Frankenberg/Eder, January 2011

1.2. A new material from the spirit of modernism: Thonet tubular steel furniture

Tubular steel furniture is the other domain in the Thonet collection. During the 1930s
the company was the world‘s second largest producer of this innovative furniture
designed by famous architects such as Mart Stam, Mies van der Rohe, Marcel
Breuer, Le Corbusier, Charlotte Pérriand and Guyot. Today, the early tubular steel
furniture designs are considered milestones in the history of design. Their clear,
open and simple forms were an expression of a new attitude in everyday culture
and architecture, which became famous under the name „New Objectivity.“ The
most important „invention“ of the time was that of the cantilever chair, the flexing
chair without back legs. Today, it is considered one of the most prominent design
innovations of the 20th century. In 1932, the Dutch architect Mart Stam was awarded
the artistic copyright for the design. Marcel Breuer also had experimented with cold
bent tubular steel at Bauhaus since 1925. The cantilever chair became possible only
due to this new material.

The Werkbund exhibition „Die Wohnung“ at the Weissenhof development in Stuttgart

in 1927 was an important stage in this development. For the first time the public was
presented with tubular steel furniture on a large scale, with designs by the Bauhaus
instructors Mart Stam and Mies van der Rohe, among others. The exhibition was
widely acclaimed and generated great international interest. At first however, the
new tubular steel furniture was not entirely well received by the general public. But
in the end, as a result of Thonet‘s involvement, the tubular steel concept took on an
entirely new dimension and distribution. As the inventor of the lightweight and cost-
efficient bentwood furniture for all, the company was not only known to a broad public
and appreciated by avant-gardists including Adolf Loos and Le Corbusier, but was
also involved in the emerging subsidized housing concept. By the end of the 1920s,
Thonet adopted the entirely new production technology. The tubular steel furniture was
manufactured in the Frankenberg facility; prior to the beginning of World War II the
corporate head offices were located in Vienna. Today, numerous successful classic
models are still part of the program, among them the first cantilever chair S 33, (Mart
Stam was awarded the artistic copyright for its form and basic principle), and models S
32 and S 64 by Marcel Breuer, as well as S 533 by Mies van der Rohe.

1.3. Timeless furniture for the home and contract: Thonet furniture today

The facility in Frankenberg/Eder in Germany was built in 1889. It is the most recent
in Thonet’s corporate history. Frankenberg in the north of Hesse has been the
company‘s corporate headquarters since the end of World War II. During World War II
all of the facilities in the Eastern European states had been lost due to dispossession,
and the Vienna headquarters at Stephansplatz was destroyed. Georg Thonet, the
Basic press text, page 4
Frankenberg/Eder, January 2011

great-grandson of company founder Michael, rebuilt the entirely destroyed facility in

Frankenberg from 1945 to 1953. Economic success returned quickly, and once again,
cooperation with outstanding designers was sought. The list of designers who have
worked for Thonet during the past 60 years is very long. It includes Egon Eiermann,
Verner Panton, Eddie Harlis, Hanno von Gustedt, Pierre Paulin, Ulrich Böhme and
Wulf Schneider, Alfredo Häberli, Christophe Marchand, Lord Norman Foster, Delphin
Design, Glen Oliver Löw, James Irvine, Piero Lissoni, Stefan Diez, Hadi Teherani.
Naoto Fukasawa and f/p design.

Today, all of the famous Thonet bentwood and tubular steel classics as well as the
current collections are produced in Frankenberg. The facility provides cutting-edge
production technologies on the one hand, and specialist know-how, compiled during
two centuries of corporate history on the other. Nowadays, Thonet develop innovative
products, which are also of the highest quality and durability, in both material and
workmanship. They achieve this by combining contemporary design with new
technology and always keeping an eye on the future and a third century of corporate
history.

1.4. An overview of the history of Thonet

1796 Birth of company founder Michael Thonet in Boppard

1819 Foundation of the company Thonet in Boppard/Rhine
1842 Michael Thonet moves to Vienna
1853 Transfer of the company to his sons as „Gebrüder Thonet“
1856 Foundation of the first furniture factory in Koritchan (Moravia).
In the following years foundation of four additional production facilities in
Eastern Europe
1859 Beginning of the production of chair No.14 (today: 214)
1889 Establishment of facility in Frankenberg/Eder in Germany
1912 Production peak with two million products per year
1923 Merger into Thonet Mundus
1929 Acquisition of Marcel Breuer and Kálmán Lengyel‘s company Standard
Möbel; acquisition of the rights to Marcel Breuer‘s designs; beginning of
tubular steel furniture production
1931 Beginning of the production of first cantilever chair „S 43“ by Mart Stam
1932 Mart Stam is awarded artistic copyright in cantilever chair
1938 Buyback of shares in Thonet Mundus by the Thonet family
1945 Dispossession from the facilities in Eastern Europe and destruction of the
Thonet building in Vienna; bomb attack on the facility in Frankenberg
1953 Reconstruction of the facility in Frankenberg by Georg Thonet is
completed. Frankenberg becomes the Company‘s headquarters
1953 Thonet exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York
Basic press text, page 5
Frankenberg/Eder, January 2011

1961 The Federal Court of Justice confirms Mart Stam‘s artistic copyright of the
cantilever chair
1972 Claus Thonet appointed a member of the management board; the fifth
family generation enters the management
1985 Peter Thonet takes over as Marketing Director
1989 Opening of Museum Thonet in Frankenberg; Philipp Thonet joins the
company
1990 Touring exhibition „The Thonet Principle“ (among others, at the
Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nuremberg, in Prague, Brno, Pressburg,
St. Petersburg, Kiev, Odessa, Moscow, Breslau, Warsaw and Posen)
1992 Exhibition at the Bauhaus Dessau; publication of book: „Ein Stuhl macht
Geschichte“ (A chair makes history)
1993 Thonet exhibition at Pillnitz Castle (arts & crafts museum)
1994 Exhibition „Thonet, Pioneer of Industrial Design, 1830-1900“ at the Vitra
Design Museum, Weil am Rhein
1996 200th anniversary of Michael Thonet; large-scale special campaign in
furniture retail Thonet exhibition in Meran „A cultural history of sitting
– Thonet chairs from past to present“; Thonet exhibition in Koblenz
1999 Tubular steel exhibition at the Berlin House of Representatives
2000 Cologne Furniture Fair; presentation of program A 900 by Sir Norman
Foster; takeover of trademark rights from Thonet Frères/France
2001 Collection of Peter Ellenberg at the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
2002 Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; comprehensive Thonet bentwood
exhibition (permanent installation)
2006 iF Gold Award for chair model A 660 by James Irvine
2008 Claus Thonet switches to the advisory board, Roland Ohnacker becomes
Managing Director of the Thonet GmbH
2009 150th anniversary of bentwood chair 214; 90th anniversary of Bauhaus:
Thonet produces the S 43 chair as special edition; Classic for Kids: a kids
edition of 214 and S 43 is introduced at the market
2010 Thonet Photo Competition ‘214 x 214: A Chair the World Over’, at the
occasion of the 150th anniversary of bentwood chair 214; opening of new
living showroom in Frankenberg, the childhood home of the Thonet
brothers.
2011 Peter A. Thonet becomes Managing Director of the Thonet GmbH
Basic press text, page 6
Frankenberg/Eder, January 2011

2. Thonet: brand, facts, data

2.1. The company and the Thonet brand

Company 5th generation family-owned

Founded: 1819 in Boppard/Rhine
Head offices: Frankenberg / Eder, Germany
Managing Director: Peter A. Thonet
Director International Sales: Philipp H. Thonet

Distribution: Worldwide. In Germany through specialist dealers. Abroad through

importers and specialist dealers.
Export markets: All countries of Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East, Russia

Collections for the following areas of use: conference and meeting, auditorium
seating, training and seminar, dining and living, reception and waiting, outdoor

Brand: The brand rights to the name „Thonet“ are owned by Thonet in Frankenberg in
Germany and in most other countries. This is the only company that can refer to the
more than 150 years of tradition. This tradition is adhered to especially by preserving
the heritage of bentwood and tubular steel furniture and through continuous
innovations in product development. Today, Thonet furniture is represented in the most
important collections in the world, among them the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
in New York, the Centre Pompidou and Musée d‘Orsay in Paris, the Vitra Design
Museum in Weil am Rhein, the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, the Museum
für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, the British Museum, and the Victoria and Albert
Museum in London, as well as many other national and international museums for
applied arts. Historic Thonet furniture achieves top prices at international auctions.

2.2. Selected references

Some of the most important reference buildings furnished with Thonet furniture during
the past years:

RAI convention center, Amsterdam

Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden
Deutscher Bundestag, Berlin
Olympiastadion, Berlin
Basic press text, page 7
Frankenberg/Eder, January 2011

Landesvertretung Niedersachsen/Schleswig-Holstein, Berlin

Restaurant Vau, Berlin
Wolford/Palmers, Bregenz
Twede Kamer (Parliament), Den Haag
Bauhaus, Dessau
Infineon, Dresden
Sächsischer Landtag, Dresden
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Düsseldorf
Robert-Schumann-Saal, Düsseldorf
Scottish Equitable, Edinburgh
Park Hotel, Edinburgh
Messe Frankfurt
IG Metall Zentrale, Frankfurt
Industrie- Kreditbank, Frankfurt, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Luxemburg
Degussa AG, Frankfurt
Allianz, Frankfurt/Munich/Hamburg
Juridicum, Martin-Luther-Universität, Halle-Wittenberg
Universitätsklinik, Innsbruck
ETH Lausanne
Deutsche Bücherei, Leipzig
Bundesverwaltungsgericht, Leipzig
University of London, London
Swiss Re, London
British Museum, London
International School of New Media, Lübeck
Banque Central, Luxembourg
Arbed, Luxembourg
Hotel Seeburg, Lucerne
Technische Universität, Munich
Audi AG, Neckarsulm
Hearst Tower, New York
Arcelor, Paris
OECD, Paris
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Bouygues, Paris
BMW Showrooms Tokyo und Shanghai
Restaurant La Maremma, Tokyo
UBS AG, Zurich
Züricher Kantonalbank, Zurich
Schweizer Börse, Zurich
Café Reitschule, Munich
Palacongressi di Rimini, Rimini
Basic press text, page 8
Frankenberg/Eder, January 2011

3. Thonet and culture

3.1. The Museum Thonet

The Museum Thonet is located in Frankenberg/Eder. It owes its existence to Georg

Thonet‘s passion for collecting. As the great grandson of company founder Michael
Thonet he collected a wealth of historic pieces and by the opening of the museum
in 1989, he made it accessible for the public. Early bentwood furniture, art nouveau
furniture, tubular steel furniture from the Bauhaus era, and post-war furniture is shown
in a total area of more than 700 square meters.

Museum Thonet, Michael-Thonet-Straße 1, D – 30566 Frankenberg

T. +49 (0) 6451 - 508-0; F. +49 (0) 6451 – 508-108; museum@thonet.eu,
www.thonet.eu
Opening hours: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 2-5 p.m., every first Saturday of
the month 2-4 p.m. and by appointment

3.2. Publications and exhibition catalogues about Thonet

3.2.1. Reference books

Bang, Ole: Thonet, Geschichte eines Stuhls, Stuttgart 1979

Bangert, Albrecht, and Ellenberg, Peter: Thonet Möbel. Ein Handbuch für Liebhaber
und Sammler, Munich 1997
Gleininger, Andrea: Der Kaffehausstuhl Nr. 14 von Michael Thonet, Frankfurt/Main
1998
Mang, Karl: Thonet Bughölzmöbel, Vienna 1982
Möller, Werner, and Otakar Mácel: Ein Stuhl macht Geschichte, Munich 1992
Nothelfer, Karl: Das Sitzmöbel, Ravensburg, 1941
Renzi, Giovanni: Thonet 14, Silvana Editoriale, 2003
Schneck: Der Stuhl, Stuttgart, 1928
von Vegesack, Alexander: Das Thonet Buch, Munich 1987
von Vegesack, Alexander: Thonet Classic furniture on bentwood and tubular steel,
HAZAR Publishing, 1996
Basic press text, page 9
Frankenberg/Eder, January 2011

3.2.2. Exhibition catalogues

Sitz-Gelegenheiten, Bugholz- und Stahlrohrmöbel von Thonet, Germanisches

Nationalmuseum Nürnberg, 1989/1990 (later as a touring exhibition of the Foreign
Office in St. Petersburg, Prague, and Odessa)
Thonet – Pionier des Industriedesigns 1830-1900, Vitra Design Museum, 1994
Thonet – Biegen oder Brechen, Landesmuseum Koblenz 1996, ed. Ulrich Löber
Buigen, Zien en Zitten – Designklassikers van Thonet, Drents Museum Assen, 1998

Thonet contact partners for the press

Thonet GmbH Claudia Neumann Communication

Vivie Thonet Claudia Neumann, Georg Maurer
Michael-Thonet-Straße 1 Eigelstein 103-113
D - 35066 Frankenberg D – 50668 Köln
T. +49 (0) 6451 - 508-126 T. +49 (0) 221 – 91 39 49 0
F. +49 (0) 6451 - 508-168 F. +49 (0) 221 – 91 39 49 19
E-mail vivie.thonet@thonet.eu E-mail thonet@neumann-luz.de