The Origins of “Gebrüder Thonet”
Michael Thonet (1796–1871) and his five sons were the most successful furniture manufacturers of the industrial era. Invited by Austrian Chancellor Metternich, who had seen his products at the Koblenz Society of Friends of the Arts Exhibition, to develop his patent in Austria, in 1842 Michael Thonet left Boppard, Germany, to settle in Vienna, where in 1853 he founded the company “Gebrüder Thonet” involving his five sons.
Innovation and Industrial Success
In the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Michael Thonet transitioned from the technique of glued laminated wood to that of steam-bent solid wood, an industrial chemical and mechanical process. Thanks to this innovation, he began producing wooden furniture, offering a collection of elegant yet rational forms, with a process that allowed for mass production. Additionally, a distribution and sales system capable of penetrating any market was immediately established.
During this period, products like the “No.1” chair were created, designed for the famous Schwarzenberg Palace in Vienna, considered the “typical” Thonet chair, from which countless models, including the “No.14” chair, later derived.
Expansion and Transformation
High-level technological and production knowledge, product distribution, and company reputation led the most important Viennese architects to design new products. Otto Wagner commissioned furnishings for the Postsparkasse, Adolf Loos designed the chair for the Café Museum and wrote in 1895: “When I was in America, I realized that the Thonet chair is the most modern there is.”
In 1911, the Gebrüder Thonet catalog listed 980 different models. At the end of World War II, independent production units emerged in various countries, developing different enterprises. In Austria, the homeland of Gebrüder Thonet, the business was reestablished by some descendants of Michael Thonet, including his great-grandson Fritz Jakob Thonet and his children Evamarie Thonet and Richard Thonet. After the war, they had to start from scratch, with little more than passion and knowledge of furniture.
The activity resumed in Vienna at one of the old Gebrüder Thonet warehouses. Starting in 1948, Fritz Jakob, Richard, and Evamarie rented a factory in Rohrau, Styria, before establishing their production site in Friedberg in 1962.
In 1976, the company changed its name to Gebrüder Thonet Vienna.
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna Today: Tradition and Innovation
Recently, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH (GTV) has developed its activity between tradition and innovation, continuity and renewal, creating a structured production program that primarily aims to recover, in the form of reissues, a series of historical objects created by Gebrüder Thonet.
GTV embodies contemporary furnishing, combining tradition and innovation. Advanced techniques, innovative materials, and sophisticated design characterize its projects, balancing classic reissues and new solutions. Icons like the No.14 chair, with over 50 million units produced, continue to inspire. GTV looks to the future, reinterpreting the past to create current and versatile collections.
