Thonet brothers: The Eternal 14 for 36 eggs

(jana zielinski) Michael Thonet founded the renowned furniture company Gebrüder Thonet in Vienna in 1849. Ten years later, he presented a café chair with the serial number of 14. Number 14 became his lucky number, even though he only managed to have thirteen children. The Thonet company decided to present a limited edition of the legendary Fourteen this year. That will certainly be something to witness…

The limited edition is prepared with a special finish of patinated walnut wood that is not used for any other Thonet product. Moreover, the seat is made from manually woven Viennese straw. Thus, the democratic principle of the original chair, which was originally intended for mass consumption, is deliberately disrupted because the limited edition is primarily for collectors.

The number 14 chair, with its unmistakable round backrest from 1930, has sold an incredible 50 million pieces to date. It was unbelievably cheap at the time it was manufactured, costing only 3 shillings – equal to 36 eggs in those days. Moreover, it had an ingeniously prepared packaging and was easy to assemble and store. It signified a real revolution in the history of design and its mass consumption. If you are interested in learning more about Thonet and the history of bent-wood furniture, you can visit the Thonet museum in Frankenberg, Germany.

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