Gebrüder Thonet

Gebrüder Thonet

Michael Thonet, the founding father of the family business Thonet, based in Frankenberg, Germany, trained as a cabinet maker and began to design and construct furniture in his own carpentry business. His breakthrough came in 1859 with the famous chair no. 14, which was also known as the Viennese coffee house chair and was to become one of the most successful classics in the history of design. In 1853, Michael Thonet's five sons, Franz, Michael Jr., August, Joseph and Jakob, joined their father's business and, following his death in 1871, continued the company as Gebrüder Thonet - Thonet Brothers. As with their father before them, they developed machines, work processes and ever new furniture designs; for example, the Thonet chair 218 which is formally reminiscent of the Thonet design classic 214 from 1859.