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Vintage Thonet Bentwood Wooden Rocking Chair 1970's Solid Wood - $160 (Keller)
Rosewood Dr. near Keller Smithfield
condition:
excellent
size / dimensions:
41 in x 41 in x 21 in.
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Local pick up only.
Bentwood Vintage Chair, Sheboygan Chair Co., Prohibition Era, Thonet Style Chair, Antique Bistro Chair
A Bentwood chair is sometimes called a Thonet Chair in honor of its creator Michael Thonet. While bentwood chair were actually being made at least two centuries before Thonet was even born, he perfected the process which made the wood easier to bend and allows for mass production to begin.
Michael Thonet was born on July 2nd, 1796 and for the first thirty years of his life was basically a cabinet maker. However, by the mid-1830s he had perfected a process of making furniture out of a combination of bent and glued wooden slats. The Boppard Layerwood Chair was his first true success, although he failed to get a patent for the technology he created to make the chair from several different countries.
Basically, the thonet chair was the result of using light, strong types of wood that were bent into curved, very graceful forms thanks to the use of hot steam. In this manner, he could create a myriad of designs that were unique, comfortable and quite durable. Despite his initial setback, his use of hot steam and selection of wood set the tone for bentwood chairs of the future.