The 1862 World Fair in London 
Starting already as early as 1860, Franz 
Thonet visited London several times to explore 
the possibility of setting up his own Thonet 
sales branch there. 1 The long-planned branch 
at 16 Ludgate Hill, however, wasn’t opened 
until Easter Monday, 12 April 1862-therefore 
directly in connection with the opening of the 
World Fair in South Kensington on 1 May 
1862, where in addition to already known 
models new Thonet products were also pre- 
sented: Chair No. 14, manufactured starting 
from 1859, Rocker No. 1 from 1860, and the 
complete model series No. 16, which was al 
ready equipped with the leg ring, which was 
available starting in the fall of 1861. In addition 
to this “cheap consumer furniture," 2 parquet 
flooring was also shown for the last time on 
an international stage. On a lithograph in The 
lllustrated London News, Thonet’s furniture 
Stands on one of these straight patterned par 
quet floors: “If we do not have time to make 
these patterns ourselves, then Leistier will 
make the same ones for us, I have talked to 
him," 3 However, Franz Thonet expected that 
the furnishing of the exhibition's restaurants 
would have a much larger advertising effect 
than the exhibits themselves: “They would like 
to borrow 1000 chairs, but they want to pay 
only 18 pence for the No. 8 and the No. 14, 
and I do not want to get less than 2 Shillings. 
We will furnish a hall where 162 chairs are 
needed and where 5 Shilling meals are served 
with No. 8 chairs, even if we get only 18 pence. 
This is worth more than the rest of the exhibi- 
tion and the sales branch together. Everyone 
sees the chairs and will think that they are 
strong, and this will greatly enhance ourfuture 
here and in Paris.” 4 
1 Already before the opening of their own sales branch, bentwood 
furniture from Thonet was sold in London by Ingelbach and 
Wolffgang (6 Lilypot Lane, Gresham Street). 
2 Hermann Heller, Von der kleinen Tischlerwerkstätte zum 
Weltindustriehaus, Brno 1926, 37. 
3 Letter from Franz Thonet in London to his brother Joseph in Vienna 
dated 1 July 1862; copy from Archiv Thillmann. 
4 Same author, letter from 18 April 1862; copy from Archiv Thillmann. 
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