Reclining Couches
ln the 1860s, Gebrüder Thonet mainly offered
furniture for semi-public spaces, such as cafes,
restaurants, and later also Offices and waiting
rooms. In the 1870s, the product ränge was
extended to the field of home furnishings, in-
cluding the so-called reclining furniture: There
was a rocking sofa, which was on runners and
was thus movable, and also pieces of furniture
on a fixed base. Of the latter, there were four
different versions, whereby reclining couch
No. 2 used the same reclining surface and the
same mechanism for adjusting the backrest as
the rocking sofa presented in Philadelphia in
1876. 1 In the 1930s, it was the fixed couches
in particular which became populär pieces of
furniture in the modern interiors. Marcel Breuer
was one of the first in 1933 to pick up on this
type of furniture for the competition Concours
international du meilleur siege en aiuminium
and designed a resilient aluminum chaise
longue. 2 When Breuer had moved to England,
Jack Pritchard, the founder of Isokon, com-
missioned him to design a wooden reclining
chair. After a series of failed attempts, Breuer
managed to get his chaise longue B.C.1-the
so-called “Long Chair” with laminated side
frames and a reclining surface made of ply-
wood-produced by Isokon in 1936. 3 Breuer
also used the same side frames for the so-
called “Short Chair"; only the plywood sheet
was shortened in the front area, so that the
feet of the user could reach the floor. 4
1 Here, however, without armrests.
2 Cf. Christopher Wilk, Marcel Breuer. Furniture and Interiors,
New York 1981, 108-125.
3 Cf. Thillmann, Schichten, Munich 2018, 137-175.
4 In addition to “Long Chair,” the term “Reclining Chair” is used in
the Contemporary descriptions. The “Short Chair" is also referred to
as an “Easy Chair."
Long Chair B.C.1
Entwurf Design: Marcel Breuer, London, 1935/36
Ausführung Execution: Isokon Furniture Company, London, 1936-39
Birke schichtverleimt (Gestell), Birken-Sperrholz der Firma Luterma
Laminated birch (frame), birch plywood from the Company Luterma;
Löffler Collection
