Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH NYNY Bookcase with Lacquered Wood and Brass Frame
About the Item
- Creator:Adolf Loos (Designer),Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 78.7 in (199.9 cm)Width: 64.9 in (164.85 cm)Depth: 17.7 in (44.96 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Contemporary
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:8-9 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:
Adolf Loos
Essentially dubbed the Frank Llyoyd Wright of Europe by Wright himself, Adolf Loos possessed a talent for architecture and interior design as potent as his outspoken criticism of Art Nouveau and excessive ornamentation. A forerunner of the International Style, Loos exercised immense restraint in his building projects as well as his designs for chairs, tables, storage pieces and other furniture, and wrote prolifically on his disdain for taking a decorative approach to architecture.
The son of a stonemason and sculptor, Loos was born in 1870 in what is now Brno in the Czech Republic. He studied architecture in Dresden in 1889, completed a year of military service and moved to the United States by 1893. He visited the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and came to appreciate the American approach to design over his three-year stay before returning to Vienna.
An avid proponent of simplicity, Loos hated fluff above all else. In his best known essay, “Ornament and Crime,” he states “the evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornamentation from objects of everyday use” — a principle evident in both his architectural work and furniture. His writing was profoundly influential for practitioners of the International Style that would emerge later as well as the likes of prolific Swiss-born French architect and modernist prophet Le Corbusier.
Loos challenged the prevailing architecture and decorating styles of his time, and disliked the ornate work associated with the Vienna Secession and Gesamtkunstwerk — the concept of a house as total work of art — an ideal pursued by a collective born from the Secession called the Wiener Werkstätte. To Loos, design should prioritize function, and any ornamentation devoid of a structural purpose was childish and unnecessary.
Loos’s furniture — alongside the work of fellow Austrian architect Josef Hoffman — was the subject of an exhibition at the Museum of Applied Arts in 2014. His architecture projects, including the Viennese Goldman and Salatsch building, the Austrian Steiner House and the Villa Müller in Prague, are celebrated by design enthusiasts all over the world.
Find vintage Adolf Loos seating, lighting and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH
For more than 180 years, Thonet — or Gebrüder Thonet — has produced elegant and durable tables and cabinets as well as chairs, stools and other seating that wholly blur the lines between art and design. Widely known as a trailblazer in the use of bentwood in furniture, the European manufacturer has reimagined the places in which we gather.
Noted for his skill in parquetry, German-Austrian company founder Michael Thonet received an invitation from Austrian Chancellor Prince Metternich to contribute Neo-Rococo interiors to the Liechtenstein City Palace in Vienna. The Boppard-born Thonet had honed his carpentry skills in his father’s workshop, where he carried out experiments with plywood and modified the Biedermeier chairs that populated the studio.
Thonet’s work for the chancellor raised his profile, and the cabinetmaker gained international recognition, including at London’s Great Exhibition of 1851, which featured works created by members of the Arts and Crafts movement as well as industrial products of the day. Thonet showed a range of furniture at the fair and won the bronze medal for his bentwood chairs. He incorporated his family’s company, the Thonet Brothers, with his sons in 1853.
Bentwood furniture dates as far back as the Middle Ages, but it is the 19th-century cabinetmaker Thonet who is most often associated with this now-classic technique. Thonet in 1856 patented a method for bending solid wood through the use of steam, and from there, the bentwood look skyrocketed to furniture fame. The works of renowned mid-century modern designers such as Alvar Aalto, Arne Jacobsen, and Charles and Ray Eames that put this technological advancement to use would not be as extensive or celebrated were it not for the efforts of the pioneering Thonet.
Considered the world’s oldest mass-produced chair, Michael Thonet’s ubiquitous Chair No. 14 demonstrated that his patented bentwood technology made it possible to efficiently produce furniture on an industrial scale. Now known as the 214, it won the German Sustainability Award Design for 2021, a recognition of the company’s commitment to environmentally responsible production.
Often called the Coffee House chair — the company’s first substantial order was for a Viennese coffeehouse — the No. 14 remains an icon. Thonet originally designed the chair in 1859, and it is considered the starting point for modern furniture.
The bentwood process opened doors — there were investments in machinery and new industrial processes, and the business began mass-producing furniture. By the end of the 1850s, there were additional Thonet workshops in Eastern Europe and hundreds of employees. Michael Thonet’s reputation attracted the attention of notable architects including Otto Wagner, Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
The No. 14 was followed by the No. 18, or the Bistro chair, in 1867, and the 209, or the Architect’s chair, of which Le Corbusier was a fan. (The influential Swiss-French architect and designer used Thonet furniture in his Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau at the 1925 International Exposition of Decorative Arts in Paris.)
Thonet’s chair designs also appeared in artwork by Toulouse-Lautrec, John Sloan and Henri Matisse in his Interior with a Violin Case. The noteworthy Thonet rocking chair remains a marvel of construction — in the middle of the 19th century, Michael produced a series of rockers in which the different curved parts were integrated into fluid, sinuous wholes. Thanks to Thonet, the humble rocker acquired something unexpected: style. It was captured in the paintings of Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and James Tissot.
Thonet is currently split into global divisions. Thonet Industries U.S.A. was acquired in 1987 by Shelby Williams and joined the CF Group in 1999, while the Thonet brand in Germany is owned by Thonet GmbH.
Find antique Gebrüder Thonet furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Linden, NJ
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH MOS Bookcase in Wood with Brass FeetBy Adolf Loos, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Brooklyn, NYMOS is the family of storage units designed by GamFratesi with console, bookcase and side table, which can also be used as a bedside table, that incorporates the style of the bench o...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Bookcases
MaterialsWood
- Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH Postsparkasse Chair in Black Lacquered WoodBy Adolf Loos, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Brooklyn, NYExtreme shape synthesis. Minimalism, exclusivity and an eye for detail. The “Postsparkasse” series was designed in 1906 by Otto Wagner for the headquarters of the Post Office Savings...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH MOS Console in Wood with Brass FeetBy Adolf Loos, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Brooklyn, NYMOS is the family of storage units designed by GamFratesi with console, bookcase and side table, which can also be used as a bedside table, that incorporates the style of the bench o...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Console Tables
MaterialsWood
- Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH Eyeshine Large Circular Mirror with Ash Wood FrameBy Adolf Loos, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Brooklyn, NYSimple geometric shapes, a combination of circles and ovals, recreate scenic suggestions that bring to mind the mystical powers of the eye and delineate the outline of the EYESHINE mirrors...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsMirror
- Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH Eyeshine Large Oval Mirror with Ash Wood FrameBy Adolf Loos, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Brooklyn, NYSimple geometric shapes, a combination of circles and ovals, recreate scenic suggestions that bring to mind the mystical powers of the eye and delineate the outline of the EYESHINE mirrors...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsMirror
- Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH Sugiloo Chair in Black LacquerBy Adolf Loos, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbHLocated in Brooklyn, NYThe rigorous style of Michael Anastassiades defines the new SUGILOO bent wood chair with wood or upholstered seat, proposed with and without wooden bac...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWood
- Modern Bookcase Cabinet in Brass and Black LacquerBy CarrocelLocated in North York, ONIndulge in the epitome of modern sophistication with our exclusive black bookcase cabinet, a masterpiece handcrafted in Canada. This striking piece boasts an alluring blend of high-g...Category
2010s Canadian Modern Bookcases
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Modern Bookcase with Shelves in Walnut Wood and Brushed BrassBy EMOTIONAL OBJECTS, João FariaLocated in Vila Nova Famalicão, PTThe "Bookcase ExCentric 2.0" listed here is made in walnut wood and brushed brass. However, we can also produce this in customized options: Structure: Stainless steel (polished or b...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Bookcases
MaterialsMetal, Brass, Steel, Stainless Steel, Cut Steel
- Bookcase With Lacquered StructureBy CPRN HOMOODLocated in Milan, ITHigh etagere with glossy lacquered structure. Metal details brushed steel.Category
2010s Italian Bookcases
MaterialsWood
- Modern Minimalist Bookcase with Shelves in Walnut Wood and Brushed BrassBy EMOTIONAL OBJECTS, João FariaLocated in Vila Nova Famalicão, PTThe "Bookcase ExCentric 2.0" listed here is a Showroom Sample made in walnut wood and brushed brass. It's also available an Executive Desk from the same collection, with the same ma...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Bookcases
MaterialsCut Steel, Metal, Brass
- Hambledon Bookcase Shelving - Limed Oak, Brass and LacquerBy And ObjectsLocated in London, GBAnd objects, product design studio founded by Martin Brudnizki and Nick Jeanes based in London. The magnificent Hambledon bookcase ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary English Bookcases
MaterialsBrass
- Sculptural Bookcase in Black Lacquered Wood with Decorative CarvingsLocated in Waalwijk, NLBookcase, lacquered wood, France, 1970s Crafted with unparalleled artistry, this cabinet with shelves epitomizes exquisite craftsmanship with meticulously carved details that draw i...Category
Vintage 1970s French Bookcases
MaterialsWood
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Why Is Italy Such a Hotbed of Cool Design?
Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.
Duplex Delivers Great Iconic Design — Often with a Custom Twist
Owner Patrizio Chiarparini offers thousands of pieces from his native Italy and elsewhere across Europe.