Thonet's bentwood chairs were staples in cafes, and his rockers graced millions of hearths. Michael Thonet, an Austrian cabinetmaker who lived from 1796 to 1871, was obsessed with innovative design. In 1830,Thonet experimented with ways to steam and bend beechwood from the local forests into curved and sturdy, graceful chairs. By 1853, he had opened his own shop, Gebruder Thonet, and by 1860 was producing bentwood rocking chairs with woven cane seats and backs. Thonet's innovations included the first, affordable, factory-produced, assembly-line chairs that could be shipped in pieces and easily assembled. The Prototype The Schaukel-Fauteuil No. 1 is the first bent beechwood, solid cane-woven rocker, created by Michael Thonet in 1860 in Koritschan, Moravia. The early rockers were stained dark -- either black, hazelnut or mahogany, in contrast to the lighter woven cane seats and backs. The rockers curve around the side of the seat, round over the front and sweep into an open, slightly upturned end, finished with a small scroll.
The sinuous arms and spiraling front legs and seat supports taper at the tips into nearly closed curved hooks. Sales of the first bentwood rockers were slow, but, as the style gradually caught on, Thonet added tufted upholstered seats and backs and changed the configuration of the curving wood. Evolving Styles The basic design remains unchanged, but slight variations in style over the years point to various dates of manufacture. The Thonet museum displays an 1880 rocker with simple, unembellished curved arms, a side support under the seat that starts as a front spiral and ends in the back as a deep U with a slight curved tail. The rockers are an unbroken curve of wood in font, ending in a slightly up-curved, plain tip in back. An 1883 reclining rocker was all closed curves with a continuous cane lounge seat. The back rockers curve completely around and the shorter arms are low and have a wide bentwood overlay. A 1904 rocker, with an upright seat, featured elaborate scrolls on both sides, plain curved rockers, and higher two-piece arms.
The changing styles help to identify the period in which a Thonet rocker was produced. Markings and Authentication The rockers were "signed" in several ways. Some chairs were stamped on the seat frame or somewhere on the underside of the chair. Others had a glued label in one of those unobtrusive spots. The labels are obviously fragile and may not have survived, so the absence of either the stamp or label is not conclusive proof that your Thonet rocker isn't genuine. The Thonet company will try to identify a real Thonet for you from photographs of your chair, and you can contact them through their website to arrange for an evaluation. Limited-Edition Rockers In 2009, Gebruder Thonet issued a limited edition of the original Thonet bentwood rocker. Only 25 of the collector's-edition rockers were made, each in stained beechwood, in a choice of mahogany, black or hazelnut stain with the trademark woven cane seat and back. Each piece was numbered and came with a hand-signed certificate of authenticity, so identifying the 190th anniversary Thonet rockers involves little guesswork.
The older rockers take a bit more sleuthing, but, by examining the bentwood styles, hunting for marks or paper labels, and tracing the provenance of a piece, you should be able to come close to figuring out the age of your collectible rocking chair. References Thonet: Thonet, the StoryBedroom Furniture Spot: Michael Thonet and His Bentwood Rocking ChairsDesign Museum: A Century of Chairs: Late 1800sArchitonic: Thonet Collect Photo Credits Hulton Archive/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Suggest a CorrectionThere are many ways to get an idea of the age of a piece of furniture. The materials, craftsmanship and “technology” can give many hints, as can the style.The easiest way is to look for signs that it is a modern chair, and if none of the “red flags” of modern construction come up, it is most likely an antique.One clue comes from the hardware. If your chair is assembled with screws, or nuts and bolts, it’s most likely less than 100 years old. Modern fasteners, (such as hex nuts or philips screws) would date the piece as even more recent, less than 75 years old.
True antique furniture (often meaning it is at least 100 years old) was generally glued together or force fitted with the use of carefully designed wooden joints and pegs.Another clue to age is workmanship. The lathe, a machine used to produce rounded wood and metal pieces, has existed for many years, so both old and new chairs could have smooth, consistently shaped major pieces, like the legs and the struts in the back of the chair. The ornamentation, though, tends to be done more by hand on older chairs, so on close examination, you’ll see subtle differences from one bit of ornamentation to another, or even the occasional chisel mark from a craftsman.Finally, if the chair is marked on the underside, it is generally not very old. There are exceptions, but labeling is a modern convention. With the introduction of global trade laws, it became necessary to mark the country of origin. Items marked “Made in” such as “Made in England” are generally made after 1908 or so. Other consumer protection laws, which are very recent, required items to be marked as to materials.
You haven’t furnished a picture, which would also help me estimate its age. You could do a search on the web on “Antique rocking chair” and look through Google images to try to find similar chairs. You can also ask an appraiser to look at the chair, either in person or via email.It is tough to tell, but YOU MUST look at the construction of ANY ANTIQUE PIECE.Fraud, is common, many tourist sites build fakes to sell, and con artists use those fakes to make more money off the piece than it is worth.Study the real construction of All furniture of a time period you want to buy in.Many times that is the 1st give away, sharp New version tools Leave differ marks than a tool sharpen buy a pedal rotary sharping stone.Screws or nails may be used instead of glued wooden pegs or modern nails in stead of Square nails. Knew a man with some antique property, had to collect square nails so he could work on the property and not be noticed. Had some legal issues for a few years, USA Forest Service was trying to claim everyone’s land.