From Palace Furnishings to Standard Series Furniture: Pälffy
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Sessel Nr. 22 Chair No. 22
Entwurf Design: Gebrüder Thonet, 1873
Ausführung Execution: Gebrüder Thonet, Koritschan Korycany, 1880er Jahre
1880s; Buche, massiv gebogen, Geflecht Beech, solid bent, cane;
MAK H 2909/ 1987
To date, there is no reliable proof that the so-
called Pälffy chairs were actually made specif-
ically for the Pälffy family in Vienna. What one
can say for sure, however, is that these models,
which were made at the earliest in the mid-
1860s, were taken over for general sale, al-
though they were depicted neither on the early
posters nor in the first catalogs. On a photo-
graph of the Thonet stand at the World Fair in
Philadelphia in 1876, on which several luxuri-
ously upholstered chairs, an armchair, and a
sofa can be seen, is so far the only known his-
torical proof of this model. 1 Chair No. 22, of-
fered as of 1873, has a back design which is
identical to that of the Pälffy models. Their tech-
nically sophisticated front leg construction can
be executed only in the technique of laminated
wood. With No. 22 the front legs were re-
placed by solid ones inserted into the seat
frame as in the Standard models in general.
Another special feature of the Pälffy models is
the shape of the armrests of the armchair and
sofa: Their double curved form is much more
elaborate than that of series model No. 22,
which-like all other classic armchairs with
trapezoidal seat frame-received a type of arm-
rest with the tapering volute. 2
1 The photo of the Philadelphia World Fair also features a chair with a
caned seat and backrest; unfortunately seen only from the back, so
that it is not clear whether it is the Pälffy model or the No. 22.
2 Only the salon armchair and its respective sofa, offered as of 1886,
still has this characteristic double curved form of the armrests.
However, there is a similar armrest form already on a drawing from
the French patent application for the Boppard furniture from 1 July
1841. See also Alexander von Vegesack, Das Thonet Buch,
Munich 1987, 14.
Möbel der Gebrüder Thonet auf der Weltausstellung
Philadelphia 1876 Furniture from Gebrüder Thonet at
the 1876 World Fair in Philadelphia
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