Thonet
Michael Thonet’s firm in Vienna, from 1853 Gebrüder Thonet. Invented the industrial bentwood chair and in the 1920s and 30s made tubular-steel furniture by Breuer, Mies van der Rohe and Mart Stam. Brands and paper labels reading ‘Thonet’ under the seat help with dating.
Michael Thonet was a cabinetmaker in Boppard on the Rhine who experimented with bending wood in glue. Prince Metternich invited him to Vienna, where he and his sons developed the method of bending solid beech with steam.
Chair No. 14 of 1859 consisted of six parts and a few screws and could be shipped disassembled in crates. Gebrüder Thonet became a global company, and in the 1920s and 30s Thonet made tubular steel furniture, such as Marcel Breuer's B 32. Thonet survives in Frankenberg in Germany.
A brand or paper label under the seat; older chairs have ‘Thonet Wien’ burnt into the frame.