Thonet’s technique made use of solid rods of beech, proven by Michael Thonet to be less prone to splitting than other species such as oak or birch. After placing the rods of beech in a pressure vessel, steam was applied until the resin surrounding the timber fibres became pliable. In this changed state, the rod could be bent around a form. Once the rod had taken shape, it would be left to cure. The hardened resin would effectively hold the timber fibres firm in the new shape, which could then be used as a solid component in the manufacture of bentwood furniture.
Protected by patent, Gebruder Thonet was to be the only firm in the Austro-Hungarian Empire for more than a decade that could legally produce bentwood furniture.
Essential to an understanding of Thonet’s genius is his development of the Model No.14 chair, the most popular design manufactured in the 19th century.Minimal in its design and economical in its use of material, it anticipated classical modernism. The production model, which appeared in the late 1850s, spanned and embodied the transition from workshop to factory production. The final model is distinguished by complete economy of process. Suitable for mass production, it represents a high point in Michael Thonet’s creativity.
Gebruder Thonet became a highly visible international presence, entering countless industrial fairs and opening branches throughout Europe during the 1860s. The variety of models manufactured by Thonet broadened to include furniture for work and leisure, for public and private use. Before long, there wasn’t a fashionable cafe in Vienna in which patrons were not perched on bentwood.