The Thonet #18 Chair as featured in the 1972 film Cabaret. Photo credit: filmandfurniture.com
It’s said that good design never goes out of fashion. And when it comes to commercial cafe and bistro chairs that seems to be the case.
Everyone is familiar with the classic bentwood cafe chair with its elegant curved back and round seat. It’s a design that first appeared more than 150 years ago yet continues to be just as popular today. It has also directly influenced the look of modern commercial cafe chairs as well as how they are made.
This blog post looks at the fascinating history of these iconic chairs which were originally designed and produced by the Viennese company Thonet in the 19th century. We’ll also see how these chairs have impacted the evolution of the modern day cafe and bistro chair.
World’s first flat-pack furniture
It all starts with Michael Thonet, a German-Austrian cabinet maker whose great vision was to create attractive, affordable cafe chairs that could easily be mass produced and transported. After setting up shop in 1849 he later transferred the business to his sons in 1853 and the Gebrüder Thonet company was formed.
His pioneering experiments with materials and processes led to the development of a unique method of bending solid beech wood. He heated lengths of beech wood with steam and bent them around a unique curved steel-lined 3-D mould. After cooling, the wood not only retained the shape it had been bent into but, importantly, it also retained its inherent tensile strength.
Original Thonet #18 Chair. Photo credit: collections.vam.ac.uk
In 1851 Thonet exhibited examples of his ‘Vienna bentwood furniture’ the Great Exhibition of 1851 at Crystal Palace in London. One of these was the iconic Thonet #18 chair, which was awarded a bronze medal.
The following year, Michael Thonet successfully applied for a patent for his bentwood process and the company began to refine and improve their process and to develop different designs. Three years later, in 1855, at the Exposition Universelle in Paris the company won a silver medal for their bentwood chairs. As the company continued to gain international success it began to expand and open factories across Europe.
Original Thonet#14 Chair. Photo credit: collections.vam.ac.uk
The first of the classic Thonet chairs to become commercially available was the Thonet #14 chair, which was launched in 1859. When it was shown at the 1867 Paris World’s Fair it received a gold medal. An important breakthrough was that the chair comprised just a handful of components. No glue or veneers were required. As the Design Museum says, the Thonet #14 chair consisted of:
‘…six pieces of wood, ten screws and two nuts. It was the first piece of furniture designed to be shipped in parts to save space during transportation and came with simple instructions to put it together.’
It was a revolutionary idea – the first flat-pack furniture to be sold. Shipping the chairs was made easy as component parts for 36 chairs could be packed into a 1 metre cubed wooden crate. This meant the unit cost of each chair could be kept low even when shipped across the globe.
36 Thonet chairs packed and ready for shipping. Photo credit: blog.design-market.fr
Thonet continued to develop variations on the classic bistro chair, including sofas and armchair versions. The company also opened sales branches in London, Paris, Berlin and Prague and produced a catalogue to help market and sell them. Being affordable to make, ship, and assemble meant that Thonet chair became incredibly popular.
Thonet catalogue 1886. Photo credit: Museum-Boppard.de
The Thonet company was manufacturing up to 1.8 million pieces a year by 1912. And as well as gracing cafes and bistros all over Europe, the Thonet chairs also appealed to many famous people. Celebrity owners included Brahms, Lenin, Picasso, Einstein and the architect Le Corbusier.
These iconic chairs also have a place in popular culture – you can spot them in impressionist paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec (#18 chair) as well as in films such as Cabaret, Citizen Kane, La La Land and even Toy Story 4. Wes Anderson’s 2021 film The French Dispatch also features Thonet chairs prominently. What’s more, the Thonet#14 chair is still available today as the 214 Bentwood Chair from the Thonet company.
The patent for Thonet’s bentwood process expired in 1869, which allowed other companies to manufacture and sell chairs with similar designs. By the early 1900s the Thonet company (now run by Thonet’s sons) began to work with architects and designers to create unique chairs manufactured from tubular steel. And gradually, other commercial furniture firms began to find ways to mass produce sturdy commercial cafe chairs from steel and aluminium.
The Thonet legacy at Warner Contracts
Yet the influence of Thonet’s simple and pleasing cafe chair designs continues today. Warner Contracts Limited stock several cafe chairs that can trace a line directly back to the original Thonet designs.
The Ella Bentwood Dining Chair from Warner Contracts Limited
Our Ella Bentwood Dining Chair is a modern homage to the Thonet #18 chair except that it features a solid wood seat rather than a woven rattan seat. This hard-wearing chair remains popular with a range of commercial hospitality venues including bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants. We stock it in a natural (as seen above) and a darker walnut finish.
The Meta Bentwood Chair from Warner Contracts Limited
Our Meta Bentwood Chair is also straight out of one of Mr Thonet’s sales catalogues. And chairs with a similar design can even be seen stacked on a kitchen table in the film Poltergeist! Luckily, you’re perfectly safe with the Meta chair. Made from solid wood, this elegant chair will look great in retro-themed interiors for hotels, cafes, bars and restaurants.
The Gem Bentwood Chair from Warner Contracts Limited
It’s easy to see the Thonet’s influence in our Gem Bentwood Chair, especially in the he circular reinforcing hoop bracing the legs. This sturdy chair is great for cafes, pubs and restaurants with a more traditional interior.
Thonet’s #233 Armchair, designed in 1895. Photo credit: thekairoscollective.com
The Swanson Armchair from Warner Contracts Limited
Another chair where Thonet’s design legacy can still be seen is our Swanson Armchair which echoes the design of Thonet’s #233 armchair. Swanson armchairs are sturdy, easy to maintain and versatile – perfect for many pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants.
Thonet-6009 chair. Photo credit: blog.design-market.fr
The Lyon Outdoor Chair from Warner Contracts Limited
And we think our Lyon Outdoor Armchairs bring Thonet’s vision right up to the present day. Made with a lightweight yet durable black powder-coated aluminium frame, the chair features the tell-tale Thonet curved arms. The Lyon represents a contemporary, stylish twist on the more traditional bistro chair and will provide years of use for cafes, restaurants and bars.
So, you can see how the DNA of Thonet’s brilliant and pioneering design and innovation is still alive and well today. Thonet’s ideas and design have proven timeless and enduring. Long may they continue to evolve.
We’re here to help
Warner Contract Furniture is committed to helping you find the best contract furnishing solution for your bar, cafe, restaurant, hotel, sports club or activity centre. We are continually adding new products to our range but if you can’t find what you’re looking for let us know. Our commercial furniture contacts and in-house team relish a challenge.
Standard delivery time is just 3-5 working days as we stock the majority of our range within the UK. We also offer an express service which delivers in just 24 hours. Call us on 0161 408 2390 or email our sales department [email protected] to get a quote.