Bentwood Chair 214 Turns 150 in 2009

When Michael Thonet first introduced his bentwood chair in Vienna in 1859, little did he know that he had created what would become the first mass-produced chair in the world.

Since then thissolid bent wood chair has been in continuous production with over 50 million chairs produced to date.

Developed specifically to appeal to - and be affordableby - broad levels of the population, it was to launch Thonet's international reputation in the 19th century.

Today, the company is run by the fifth generation of the Thonet family, direct descendents of Michael Thonet, in Frankenberg in North Hesse, Germany, Thonet's head office.

The 214, the "coffee-house chair" became the first flat-pack chair.

This revolutionary process enabled the chair to be constructed from six components and a handful of screws.

As a result it was easily shipped all over the world and assembled on site in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa.

Today the 214 chair is the most successful industrial product in the world, and is the reason why Thonet is regarded as one of the pioneers of industrial design.