Group of original nineteenth-century Thonet furnishings from the small-series production of around 1870.

Group of original nineteenth-century Thonet furnishings from the small-series production of around 1870. The most valuable original Thonet furniture is that made during the "craft and design" phase of the mid-nineteenth century. The first models made around the middle of the century first in Boppard, then in Moravia, are reference objects in the history of design and furniture and museum significance. The production of 1870 retains considerable artistic-collecting interest as the production was still careful and limited and with a technique similar to the prototypes. The mass production that spread at the end of the century and in the early 1900s is considered less interesting. The group consists of a loveseat, a pair of armchairs and a rocking chair that are sold separately. Steam-bent beech wood, Vienna straw. Stamp and label of the factory. Vienna 1870 ca. History of the prestigious Thonet factory. In the years around 1830, Thonet carries out his experiments with strips of veneer softened in boiling glue before inventing "bentwood furniture". In 1842, Prince Metternich, impressed by the talent of the Rhenish cabinetmaker calls him to Vienna. Here Michael Thonet dedicates himself, with his sons, to making parquet floors and furniture for the Liechtenstein Palace and the Schwarzenberg Palace. With the creation of chair No. 4 for the Daum café on the Kohlmarkt in Vienna, he soon conquers the Viennese cafe scene, laying the foundation for the development of the furniture sector for the "community", i.e. public spaces. With the revolution of 1848 many people lose their jobs and find another job in the new Thonet factories, where steam engines are in operation. Success came in 1859, when the company Gebrüder Thonet of Michael's sons presented chair No. 14 in solid bent wood, the famous "Vienna straw chair" which is now considered one of the icons in the history of design. The Thonet brothers soon understand the need to integrate new trends and technical developments into their work, making certain insights still in their embryonic stages their own. From the beginning they presented their creations at the industrial and craft exhibitions of the time. The multilingual catalogs of the company Gebrüder Thonet help to make the products known abroad, which soon become best sellers. Thus, sales branches are created in neighboring countries as well as in more distant ones, until a distribution network of Thonet furniture is developed throughout the world. The development of an innovative technique for bending solid wood (hot steam), first by boiling the glue, then by moistening it with steam, generated by an autoclave, and then giving it the desired curvature in metal moulds and making it rigid again by drying it in ovens. This last process was then patented in 1842. Michael Thonet died in Vienna in 1871, and the business is carried on by his sons. The most valuable original Thonet furniture is that made during the "craft and design" phase of the mid-nineteenth century. The first models made around the middle of the century first Boppard, then in Moravia, are reference objects in the history of design and furniture and museum significance.