Sales and Branches 1860-1875
^«s.Wn.ausschl.priv. und landeshef
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Fabriken massiv
Arbeiten,
PARIS 1867,
Coldtn« Medaille.
OSKAU 1872
Goldene Midiilla.
WIEN 1873,
PHILADELPHIA 1876
*1» Jury-Mitglieder
ausser Pre
FABRIKEN
Koi'itsdian Itistrit/, ll / n llallcnkaii Wsctin Gr.Ugröcz Nowo Kailomsk
Mähren. Mähren. Mähren. Mähren. Ungarn. Kuss. Polen.
Haupt-Niederlage: Stadt, Brandstätte 2,| J
am Stephanaplatz.
, Ar '
Gruppe UL
BERLIN
W. Leipzigerstrasse 89.
HAMBURG
Ecke NeuerWall & Jungfernstieg, i
MÜNCHEN
Theatinerstrasse II. ^
FRANKFURT V
Neue Mainzerstrasse II.
AMSTERDAM
Kalverstraat E 66 68.
BRÜSSEL
B d Anspach,Place de Brouckfere I.
BUDAPEST
Waitznergasse 18.
PRAG
Obstgasse.
BRÜNN GRAZ
Hauptplatz. Herrengasse.
DRESDEN
Wilsdruffer-Strasse 6.
BUKAREST
Calea Victoria 13.
ST. PETERSBURG, ODESSA.
labriktiinarke.
Gruppe V.
PARIS
Boul d Poissonnifcre 15.
LONDON
Oxford Street 47.
ROM
Via del Corso 119/i21
NEAPEL
Strada Chiaia 191 & 192.
MAILAND
Piazza del Duomo.
NEW-YORK
814 Broadway.
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Deckblatt des Verkaufskatalogs von 1879
Cover page of the sales catalog from 1879
Parallel to the founding of new factories, a perfectly organized branch
and distribution System which permanently secured sales was set up in
the 1860s. The Separation of production and sales, which had already
been implemented with the opening of the showroom in Palais Monte-
nuovo, was systematically continued. The aim was to keep the product
in their own hands, from the development through manufacturing to sales.
Pest [now Budapest] was the first city outside of Vienna, in which a sep
arate branch was established. In the summer of 1 861 Franz Thonet
traveled there and took care of the acquisition of appropriate premises
and the establishment of a branch. A suitable space was found in Lika
House at 3-303 Dorottya utca. In mid-October the branch was opened.
The establishment of the London branch should be seen in connection
with the “International Exhibition" of 1862. It was obvious that the par-
ticipation in the exhibition and the simultaneous opening of a branch was
planned in Order to make Gebrüder Thonet more well-known in England. 32
In the spring, Franz traveled to London and found rooms for rent in one
of the best locations in London, 16 Ludgate Hill; cheap rooms for three
years for the time being. In addition to presenting the furniture at the
World Fair, the Thonets also provided the seating for the exhibition's
restaurants, because they were convinced this promised to have an even
greater advertising effect than the exhibition itself. “We have 8 dozen of
each of these numbers [chair No. 3, No. 11, and No. 14 finely woven,
and No. 11 and No. 14 coarsely woven] in the tour best rooms of the
exhibition restaurant. [...] This is worth more than the rest of the exhibition
and the sales branch together. Everyone sees the chairs and will think
they are strong, and this will greatly enhance our future here and in Paris." 33
This was followed by the founding of further sales branches in Brno,
Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, and Paris. Already in 1873, they crossed
the Great Pond: They opened their own shop at 808 Broadway in New
York; Milan followed in 1876, Moscow in 1884, Marseille and Barcelona
in 1887 and 1888, respectively. By 1890, another 26 shops were
established at prime locations in all major cities. Since not all furniture
could be held in the branches, they started producing posters on which
most of the models were displayed in the end of the 1850s.
In the first few years furniture was used mainly to furnish public businesses
such as cafes, restaurants, and later also Offices, but in the following
decades the ränge was extended to include home furnishings. However,
the limited scope of a poster could no longer accommodate the large
number of different types of furniture. Therefore to give the customer an
almost complete overview of the production, a Musteralbum [Sample
Album] was published for the first time. The number of furniture models
presented was 155. Later there were steadily more extensive, partly mul-
tilingual catalogs from which the customers could choose not only their
furniture, but also the variations in color and shape themselves. In ad
dition to an increasingly large variety of models, Gebrüder Thonet then
tried to introduce bentwood furniture to all areas of life. Special catalogs
with furniture for theaters, restaurants, hospitals, gardens, and verandas
appeared. In a catalog called Lawn-Tennis everything necessary for this
game was offered. The Gesamtkatalog [Complete catalog] from 1911
with the Supplement from 1915 ultimately contained more than 2000
different bentwood furniture items and variants of basic models.
32 Furniture from Gebrüder Thonet was offered in London as early as 1860. Letters from 1860 to 1862
mention deliveries to a Company called Ingelbach & Wolffgang, at 6 Lilypot Lane, Gresham Street.
This Company also had a shop in Paris-66, me de Bondy-in the early 1860s in which Gebrüder
Thonet furniture could be purchased.
33 Franz Thonet, Letter from 18 April 1862 sent to Koritschan; Copy from Archiv Thillmann.
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