Pair of Austrian red ‘Gothic-form’ no. 38 side chairs by Thonet

Newly upholstered in Rose Uniacke Rosehip velvet. For the Thonet catalogue design for this chair and a companion sofa, see Christopher Wilk, Thonet: 150 Years of Furniture, 1980, p. 53. Note: These chairs are a fine example of the innovative manufacturing and designs of Michael Thonet and his sons.  Thonet (1796-1871), a name synonymous with the cafe chair (No.14), started experimenting with the process of lamination and bending wood in the 1840s, by 1850 he had produced his chair No.1, and the following year at the 1851 Great Exhibition he received a bronze for his 'Vienna bentwood chairs', and  much international acclaim. His sons joined him in business and numerous factories opened, where the family themselves designed and made all the manufacturing equipment and fittings.