by Lilo Schäfer (Author)

‘The company Thonet was founded in 1819 and has since become a furniture manufacturer with the highest standards of design and quality. Worldwide, the name is associated with famous design classics of our time. In this book, the graphic design behind the Thonet brand is explored for the very first time, along with the development of signets and printed goods parallel to the furniture design and the aesthetics of the age. More than 100 exhibits from the Thonet archives are presented chronologically – from the first 19th-century sales posters, adorned with ornaments like the furniture of the period, to the reduced-format catalogues from the 1920s, to the creation of a timeless image from 1974. Discussions with designers of the brand from 1969 complete the volume. This publication is both graphic design history and a portrait of a 200-year-old company.