The Stool 60 Giveaway. Sign up for our emails and a chance to win this ingenious stackable stool.Until the Industrial Revolution, furniture was made by hand out of natural materials. Elaborate carvings on local wood expressed the social and political mores of the era. Royalty and the wealthy were the only people who could afford the luxury of handmade goods. Once the furniture industry became mechanized in the 19th century, furniture was mass-produced. Parts were standardized, and ornamentation was machine carved, replacing handwork. Factories were built near timber, water and transportation to produce quickly and ship to stores and consumers. Furniture was now affordable for and available to the general public. Catalogs were printed, and mail order was born. Sadly, the large manufacturers put the small furniture makers and shops out of business. The first chair to be mass-produced was the Bentwood, developed by Michael Thonet (Toe’-net). This changed how furniture was made and distributed from this point forward.
Thonet (1796-1871) was a German/Austrian cabinetmaker. He experimented with gluing together slats of wood, but the glue did not hold, especially in humid climates. Instead, he developed a way of laminating wood by steaming small pieces of wood and scraps. They were put into cast iron molds and allowed to dry, creating a strong, single piece of wood. Bentwood chairs were unique at the time. All furniture being made was of wood, and was heavily carved. Thonet’s pieces had gentle curves, which was completely new. By using beechwood, his furniture was light and durable. There were no complex joints. Chairs were made of a few pieces of laminated wood and put together with a few screws. This also allowed for them to be shipped unassembled. Parts for dozens of chairs could be put into one box for shipping, which cut costs. In the 1930s, Gebrüder Thonet began to work in tubular steel with Bauhaus designers, including Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer. Steel was modern and forward thinking at the time, and Bauhaus designs were very simple, keeping in line with Thonet’s original idea of simplicity.
Today, the Bentwood process would be considered eco-friendly, because it used scraps of wood, eliminating waste. Thonet also kept production costs down by having his manufacturing plants close to the forests and the railway for shipping. He used an assembly line for the most efficient use of worker time. This mass production meant unskilled labor could be hired inexpensively, and the labor pool would be larger. When Thonet died in 1871, his son took over the company, Gebrüder Thonet, and expanded it. Between 1859-1939, over 40 million Bentwood chairs were sold. Bentwood design is timeless. Chair #14 was designed in 1859 and is still being manufactured today. It was originally made of 6 pieces of wood, 10 screws and 2 nuts. Two more pieces of wood were added later for strength. Chair #14, now renamed #214, is the common bistro chair of today. It is suitable in a café, a dining room or as a single side seat. Today, Chair #214 has many options – with or without arms, with or without a backrest, and cane, leather or plywood seating.
Designers such as Le Corbusier and Loos used #14 in their interior designs. Modernists liked its simple form and function, the way it was manufactured with few materials, and the physical and visual lightness. Picasso had one in his studio, and #14 appeared in many paintings of the era. The Bentwood rocker, Rocking Chair #1, was designed in 1860. It was comprised of complex scrollwork, which was integral to the design of the rockers. Other pieces Gebrüder Thonet manufactured are cradles, side tables, stools, coat racks and settees. Bentwood furniture blended well with the Art Nouveau period of the early 20th century. It was curvy, simple, beautiful and functional. It also held no historical reference – it was completely new and forward thinking at the time, just as the Industrial Revolution was. Bentwood design is here to stay. It is light, timeless, durable and aesthetically pleasing. Gebrüder Thonet still manufactures #214. I don’t think it can be improved upon!
For more information, and more furniture, investigate the official Thonet furniture site.Vienna Side Chair from Crate & Barrel - $119 each in white or black Following Anna's Retrospect column on the Bentwood Chairs of Gebrüder Thonet, it's an excellent time to roundup the large variety of bentwood café chairs — available at a range of prices. Many of these contemporary bentwood cafe chairs are manufactured in Poland at the same factories used by Thonet. Check the captions for specific information including pricing (when available) and links. Don't forget to check Apartment Therapy Scavenger and your local Apartment Therapy Classifieds! — used bentwood chairs are frequently available for great prices! MORE THONET STYLE• Bentwood Projects from Martha Stewart Living• Bentwood Dining Chairs, Five Ways• Retrospect | The Bentwood Chairs of Gebrüder Thonet• Hermann Czech Chairs• Martino Gamper's Thonet Chairs at The Conran Shop For other uses, see Rocking Chair (disambiguation).
A rocking chair or rocker is a type of chair with two curved bands (also known as rockers) attached to the bottom of the legs, connecting the legs on each side to each other. The rockers contact the floor at only two points, giving the occupant the ability to rock back and forth by shifting their weight or pushing lightly with their feet.[2] Rocking chairs are most commonly made of wood. Some rocking chairs can fold. The word rocking chair comes from the verb to rock.[3] The first known use of the term rocking chair was in 1766. A rocking chair designed by Swedish painter and furniture designer, Karin Bergöö Larsson Rocking chairs are often seen as synonymous with parenting, as the gentle rocking motion can soothe infants. Many adults find rocking chairs soothing because of the gentle motion. Gentle rocking motion has been shown to provide faster onset of sleep than remaining stationary, mimicking the process of a parent rocking a child to sleep. Rocking chairs are also comfortable because, when a user sits in one without rocking, the chair automatically rocks backward until the sitter's center of gravity is met, thus granting an ergonomic benefit with the occupant kept at an un-stressed position and angle.
Varieties of rockers include those mounted on a spring base (or platform) called "platform rockers" and those with swinging braces commonly known as gliders. A photo of man lounging in a rocking chair while reading Though American inventor Benjamin Franklin is sometimes credited with inventing the rocking chair, historians actually trace the rocking chair's origins to North America during the early 18th century, when Franklin was a child. Originally used in gardens, they were simply ordinary chairs with rockers attached. It was in 1725 that early rocking chairs first appeared in England. The production of wicker rocking chairs reached its peak in America during the middle of the 18th century. These wicker rockers, as they were popularly known, were famous for their craftsmanship and creative designs. Michael Thonet, a German craftsman, created the first bentwood rocking chair in 1860.[8] This design is distinguished by its graceful shape and its light weight. These rocking chairs were influenced by Greek and Roman designs as well as Renaissance and colonial era artistry.
During the 1920s, however, folding rocking chairs became more popular in the United States and in Europe. They were handy for outdoor activities and travel purposes. By the 1950s, rocking chairs built by Sam Maloof, an American craftsman, became famous for their durability and deluxe appearance. Maloof's rocking chairs are distinguished by their ski-shaped rockers. President John F. Kennedy made the P & P Chair Company's rocking chair famous. In 1955, Kennedy, who suffered with chronic back problems, was prescribed swimming and the use of a rocking chair by his physician. The President so enjoyed the rocker that, after he was inaugurated in 1961, he took the chair on Air Force One when he traveled around the country and the world. He bought additional rockers for Camp David and for the Kennedy estates; and he gave them as gifts to friends, family, and heads of state. Kennedy's rocking chair from the White House is on permanent display at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. Per the manufacturing design, the Kennedy Rocking Chair is shaped, steam-bent, and assembled while the wood is still "green."