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 Exhibition of the Society of Friends of the Arts in Koblenz, to develop his patent in Austria, in 1842 Michael Thonet left Boppard, Germany, to settle in Vienna, where in 1853 he founded the "Gebrüder Thonet" company involving his five sons.
Innovation and industrial success
In the capital of the Habsburg Empire, Michael Thonet moved from the technique of glued laminated wood to that of steam-bent solid wood — a chemical and mechanical process of industrial type. Thanks to this innovation he began producing wooden furniture, offering a collection of forms that were both elegant and rational, with a procedure that allowed mass production. Added to this was a distribution and sales system capable of penetrating any market.
During this period, products were born such as the "N.1" chair, designed for the famous Schwarzenberg Palace in Vienna, considered the Thonet "prototype" chair, from which countless models later derived, up to the "N.14" chair.
N. 1 — Michael Thonet
N. 4 — Michael Thonet
Expansion and transformation
Consapevolezza tecnologiche e di alto livello, diffusione dei prodotti e notorietà dell'azienda spinsero i più importanti architetti viennesi a progettare nuovi prodotti. Otto Wagner fece realizzare gli arredi per la Postsparkasse. Adolf Loos realizzò la sedia per il Café Museum e si dedicò alla progettazione del 1899. “Quando ero in America comprai che la sedia Thonet si seduta dal re.”
Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly (Ned Scott/John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images)
Le Corbusier (Wolfgang Kuhn/United Archives via Getty Images)
Winston Churchill (CPT TANNER — No 2 Army Film and /AFP/Getty Images)
In 1911 the Gebrüder Thonet catalogue counted 860 distinct models. At the end of the Second World War, independent production units remained in various nations, which took on different names: in Austria, homeland of Gebrüder Thonet, it became Thonet-Mundus; among descendants of Michael Thonet were Gebrüder Thonet and Richard Thonet. After the war, starting again from scratch, with few pieces but with great passion and knowledge of furniture.
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna was born precisely from the old Gebrüder Thonet warehouses, starting in 1948. Rebuilt, Richard and Gebrüder Thonet erected a factory in Rethway, Styria, before building their production site in Friedberg in 1952.
In 1976 the company changed its name to Gebrüder Thonet Vienna.
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna oggi:
tradizione e innovazione
Recently, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH (GTV) has developed its business between tradition and innovation, continuity and renewal, giving life to an articulated production programme that aims first of all to recover — as re-editions — a series of historical objects created by Gebrüder Thonet.
GTV embodies contemporary furniture, combining tradition and innovation. Advanced techniques, innovative materials and contemporary design characterise its projects, transforming classical heritage into new solutions. Icons like the N14 chair, with over 50 million examples produced, continue to inspire. GTV looks to the future, reinterpreting the past to create current and versatile collections.
The GTV "Coin"
The inimitable value, tangible and intangible, in the structure of every single piece: a distinctive emblem that attests to authenticity, originality and quality, achieved through a balance between industry and skilled craftsmanship, between the heritage of the past and detailed execution. The coin bearing the brand's effigy, which historically was applied internally at the Thonet production sites, now appears on all products.
