In 1819, Michael Thonet (1796-1871) established a building and furniture workshop in Boppard on the River Rhine. It was the birth of our company. During the 1830s he experimented with veneer strips boiled in glue; after several years, he succeeded in inventing "solid bentwood furniture."
Prince Metternich, State Chancellor of the K.u.K. monarchy, liked his furniture and called him to Vienna in 1842. There, together with his sons, he opened a new company in 1849. In this country, Thonet played a decisive role in the furnishing of the Palais Lichtenstein and Palais Schwarzenberg, among others. In 1850, Anna Daum furnished her coffee house in Vienna with chair No. 4. Innovative production and distribution methods as well as a comprehensive program of chairs, tables, armchairs, sofas, wardrobes, etc. allowed the company to expand rapidly and brought it global recognition. Starting 1889, seven facilities in today's Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, and Frankenberg (Germany) produced the furniture. Subsidiaries existed in all of the world's important cities.
