Bentwood Chair

During the 1850s, German Austrian cabinet maker Michael Thonet ignited a “revolution in chair construction and innovation,” says Graner. While working in Vienna he developed a system for bending solid beech wood by using steam, resulting in what is often called the first piece of mass-produced furniture, the 1859 No. 14 chair (today offered as 214). Also known as the Vienna Coffee House chair, it would give way to the French bistro chair, both of which remain extremely popular as today. Lightweight and durable, Thonet’s chair featured modular components that could be packed into a one-cubic-meter box, shipped, and assembled on site.