Three Thonet chairs – An example of series production
1850
Invited to come to Vienna by Chancellor Metternich, the cabinet-maker Michael Thonet was active in the city from 1842. His business specialized in the industrial production of furniture made of steam-bent wood. His chairs were particularly popular with the proprietors of cafés; they were also used in public buildings like the Post Office Savings Bank in Vienna, designed by Otto Wagner. The sales of Thonet chairs were so successful that by 1900 the firm employed some 10,000 people worldwide.
