August Thonet No. 30 Bentwood Chair by Ton – Natural Beech with Cane Seat

• Design & Origins

  • Designed by August Thonet and rose to prominence in the 1920s bentwood revival

  • Admired by leading modernist architects such as Le Corbusier and Mart Stam

  • Celebrated for its simple, unadorned design and “industrial” character, reflecting rigorous functionalism

• Historical Significance

  • Le Corbusier used the No. 30 chair as early as 1922 in his commissions, for both dining and desk seating

  • Featured prominently in his Pavilion at the 1925 Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts

  • Corbusier praised it as “the humble Thonet chair… possessing nobility”

  • In the 1927 Deutsche Werkbund Exhibition (directed by Mies van der Rohe), half of the 16 architects used bentwood chairs

  • Among them, the most popular design was the August Thonet-designed B9 Bentwood Armchair

• Production

  • Crafted in an original European Michael Thonet factory in the Czech Republic

  • Made by Ton, continuing Thonet’s tradition of bentwood craftsmanship

• Dimensions

  • Height: 30”

  • Depth: 22 ½”

  • Width: 21 ½”

  • Seat Height: 18 ¼”

  • Arm Height: 26 ¾”

• Materials

  • Frame: Solid natural beechwood

  • Seat: Woven cane