German cabinetmaker Michael Tonet was born in 1796 in the city of Boppard. Since childhood, he studied furniture art, in his youth he became a qualified master, and at the age of 23 opened his own workshop for the production of furniture for living rooms. The young man gravitated toward the furniture, thin, elegant, dreamed of creating something unusual, sublime. And in the end he succeeded. Little by little, Tonette's workshop had previously produced unprecedented technologies of bending wood under the influence of steam. This method carried a significant potential for the production of completely new chairs and armchairs. So the Viennese chair appeared, although its present name was received much later.
Michael conducted a series of experiments, during which he was able to determine the final parameters of the hot processing of wood blanks for subsequent bending. Two methods were developed, the first one - under the influence of steam, the second - the bending of the billet in boiling water. Both methods were quite effective, and Thonet proceeded to produce bent furniture. At first I had to suffer with the desire of the wood to straighten out. The curved blanks gradually lost shape. But after the masters came up with special forms for aging and full shrinkage of the finished parts, things went smoothly.
In 1842, Michael Tonet had troubles, his workshop was arrested and the work had to be stopped. But fortunately, at that time there was a popular furniture exhibition, where Tonet showed his works. It was noticed by the well-known Austrian Metternich, who suggested to the perspective furniture maker to move to Vienna and work for him, producing furniture as a palace decoration. The proposal was very useful, Michael Tonet opened a workshop in Vienna and immediately engaged in the production of furniture for the Palace of Liechtenstein.
His unusual chairs impressed with the perfection of lines and strength, they tried to acquire the most representative Austrian families. The fashion for Tonet's products went. And his furniture was called "Viennese chairs." The master managed to withstand a certain style in a fairly narrow framework, the definition of "Viennese chair" was very authoritative. And this is correct, because the purity of style is based on canons, which can not be retreated.
The Vienna chair of Thonet differed somewhat in comparison with the chairs of other firms, the back of the chair passed into two hind legs in two indivisible details, and the front legs had their own classical Viennese form, which others did not. And all the details were so arranged that they were backed by mutual support. And this was an important factor, because the interconnection of individual parts informed the product of unprecedented strength. Once the Viennese chair of the workshop "The Brothers Thonet" was jokingly thrown off the Eiffel Tower to see how many pieces an elegant piece would be shattered. And the chair did not break, he sprang from the ground several times as a spring and remained whole. It was a great promotion for the Tonet furniture brand.
And then, at the world furniture exhibition in 1878, the company "Brothers Thonet" won gold medals. After this, there was no timeout for those wishing to buy Viennese furniture in the next 20 years. And the Viennese chair became a classic. Michael Tonet was no longer alive, but his business was continued successfully by his sons and grandsons. The Russian Imperial Court was one of the regular buyers of the magnificent Viennese furniture of Thonet. Today, a Viennese chair can also be bought, several furniture factories around the world produce elegant, strong and inexpensive products.