Michael Thonet was born in the small river town of Boppard am Rhein, Germany in 1796. A skilled craftsman, he painstakingly carved his furniture from European beech until he discovered a method of bending wood. Thonet unravelled the complicated technical properties of wood, explored the limitations of its flexibility and developed a new body of design whose appeal extended beyond mere novelty. His furniture designs were simple and graceful with a distinctive quality that belied its true strength. In 1841 Thonet exhibited at the Koblenz fair and came to the attention of Prince Metternich who immediately recognised Thonet’s work as demonstrating ideas matching his own. He had intentions of promoting Austria’s industrialisation and invited Thonet to his castle, urging him to relocate to Vienna to establish a workshop. In 1830, Michael Thonet began experimenting with what was soon to be known as "bentwood" furniture and it was not long before Thonet and his sons were producing this furniture on an industrial scale. The name Thonet quickly became synonymous with a high standard of exquisite craftsmanship and Thonet's bentwood products soon joined the ranks of the most famous and most imitated furniture products of modern times.
