Thonet, Michael
(July 2, 1796 - March 3, 1871)
 - Inventor of bentwood furniture and as a pioneer of furniture design.
- Thonet was the son of master tanner Franz Anton Thonet of Boppard
- married Anna Grahs with whom he had seven sons and six daughters. Only four of the sons, however, survived early childhood.
- 1830s, Thonet began trying to make furniture out of glued and bent wooden slats.
- Acquired the Michelsmühle, the glue factory that made the glue for this process, in 1837.
- At the Koblenz trade fair of 1841, Thonet met Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, who was enthusiastic about Thonet's furniture and invited him to the Vienna court. In the next year, Thonet was able to present his furniture, and his chairs in particular, to the Imperial Family.
- In 1849 he again founded an establishment of his own, the Gebrüder Thonet.
- 1856 he was able to open up a new factory in Koryčany, Moravia.
- The 1859 chair Nr. 14 - better known as Konsumstuhl Nr. 14.
- As Michael Thonet died 1871 in Vienna, the Fa. Gebrüder Thonet had sales locations across Europe as well as Chicago and New York.
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Quick Facts
Born: 7/2/1796
Died: 3/3/1871
Vienna
Type(s):
Furniture Designer
Furniture Manufacturer
Style:
Categories Most Known For:
Important Designer Relationships:
Thonet
Gebrüder (Gebruder) Thonet
Artist Website:
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