VICTORIAN PERIOD: Thonet No.14 Chair

History

The No.14 Chair is the most famous chair designed and manufactured by Thonet. It is also sometimes known as the bistro chair. Michael Thonet designed it in 1859. Since then it has been acknowledged as a classic piece of elegance. It was awarded the gold medal at the 1867 World Exposition in Paris. Between years 1859 and 1930 around 50 million of these chairs have been sold worldwide. The popularity of this chair has never ceased, and in the recent years it has been undergoing a strong revival. Another innovative aspect of this chair was its ability to be assembled and disassembled quickly and easily. This allowed the manufacturers to flat-pack a significant number of the chairs into one container for more efficient transportation. These chairs have been manufactured by Thonet since 1859 till now. Currently this chair is known as Thonet No. 214 chair.

Designed by

Michael Thonet

Dimensions

Height 920mm, width 400mm, depth 500mm, seat height 465mm

Materials

 Wood, steam-bent beechwood, 10 screws, and 2 nuts.

Elements and Principles

Line is the main Element of this design, and Symmetrical Balance is the Principle. Simple curved lines of the bentwood, circular lines of the seat, and straight but slightly curved lines of the legs are all arranged in symmetrical balance giving the chair the feel of simple elegance and lightness.

Manufactured by

Gebrüder Thonet, Vienna, Austria

Used by Designers

Over the span of the two centuries, this chair has been used in both residential dining rooms, as well as in cafes, bistros and restaurants.

Replicas

Thonet keeep manufacturing this chair since its origin. It can be viewed and purchased here: http://en.shop.thonet.de/classics/range-214

Thonet has also introduced a large number of subtle variations to their iconic design.

Also, a large number of other furniture manufacturers have been producing replicas of this famous chair.

Contemporary interpretations and influences

Designers have been adding subtle twists and changes to this iconic chair. In the recent years this chair is being produced in a broad range of bright and pastel colours, and sets often consist of chairs of different and contrasting colours.

Resources

http://www.design-museum.de/en/collection/100-masterpieces/detailseiten/sessel-soehne.html

http://en.thonet.de/about-us/thonet-the-story/the-thonet-principle.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._14_chair

http://en.shop.thonet.de/classics/range-214