Michael Thonet, inventor of the bistro chair

Michael Thonet (1796-1871) sold more chairs than any designer in history. A German cabinetmaker settled in Vienna, he developed from 1841 a revolutionary process: bending solid wood with steam to give it shapes impossible to saw. From that invention came in 1859 the N°14 chair, known as the 'bistro chair'. Light, demountable, shippable worldwide in parts: an industrial revolution before its time, which equipped millions of European cafés and has never stopped being produced.

The vintage Thonet chair, particularly the N°14, remains to this day the best-selling design object in the world. Original models, recognisable by their stamp, caning and screwed assembly, have become collectors' pieces. A bistro chair, several centuries of history.