Windsor Chairs 
„The chair form possibly reached the zenith of 
its comfortable and decorative adjustment to 
the needs of the human body in the early years 
of the eighteenth Century. The Windsor or stick 
back chair was an entirely functional solution 
in wood of the problem of seating,“ wrote the 
English author John Gloag in his 1934 book 
Industrial Art Explained.' The architect Josef 
Frank, who often based his own furniture de- 
signs on this proven type, was likewise con- 
vinced that this was true of the English and 
American Windsor chairs. Frank was less con- 
cerned with inventing new Creations than with 
updating anonymous traditions in the Service 
of comfort and coziness for his time. In this 
spirit, the Austrian architect also appreciated 
the corresponding Windsor models produc- 
ed by Thonet, which he not only frequently 
used for his interior decoration, but also in- 
cluded in the product ränge offered by his 
Viennese decorating firm Haus & Garten. 2 
Shortly after the turn of the Century, Gebrüder 
Thonet already offered two variations of 
Windsor chairs, referred to as “modern arm- 
chairs,” in its program. 3 Only at the end of the 
1920s, is this chair type to be found again at 
Thonet. 4 As machine-made standardized fur 
niture, these chairs are the great exception 
among the Viennese joiner's furniture otherwise 
preferred by Frank. 5 
1 John Gloag, Industrial Art Explained, London 1934, 134 f., 143 f. 
2 Thonet AG was one of the suppliers of Haus & Garten which was 
listed in the asset registration demanded by the National Socialists 
in 1938. Cf. Austrian State Archive AT-OeStA/AdR E-uReang VVSt 
VA Buchstabe W 20824 (2nd Supplement to the questionnaire 
from 15 April 1938). 
3 See the Thonet Catalog from 1904, 47. The first proof of this 
furniture can be found in the ZA No. 2 from 17 October 1903. 
4 In a catalog from 1928 there are a total of six models, including the 
models B 936 and B 945/F presented here. 
5 Cf. Sebastian Hackenschmidt, “Typification through Craftsmanship: 
Viennese Furniture Culture between Carpentry and Mass 
Production,” in: Exhib. Cat. Vienna/Basel 2016: Josef Frank, 
173-183. 
Armlehnsessel Armchair, aus Haus Beer, Wien from Villa Beer, Vienna 
Entwurf Design: Josef Frank, Wien Vienna, um ca. 1930 
Ausführung Execution: Haus & Garten, Wien Vienna, um ca. 1930; Nuss, massiv und gebogen 
Walnut, solid and bent; MAK H 3750/2014; Schenkung Donation Dr. Strohmayer Stiftung 
217