About us

The unique success story of GebrüderT1819 began with the work of master carpenter Michael Thonet (1796-1871), who established the transition from manual furniture production to industrial production. Michael Thonet succeeded in making the breakthrough to industrial production in 1859 in Vienna with chair no.14, later called the „Vienna coffee house chair“, for which the innovative technique of bending solid beech wood was used. The individual production steps were standardized and the division of labor concept was implemented for the first time in furniture production. In addition, the chair was easy to disassemble and could be shipped in a space-saving way. Chair no.14 cleared the way to become a global enterprise, and numerous successful bentwood designs followed.

GebrüderT1819’s production peaked in 1912: that year, two million units were produced and sold worldwide. Tubular steel furniture is the second constant in GebrüderT1819’s product line. In the 1930s, the company was the world’s largest producer of this innovative furniture, which was designed by a number of famous architects including Mart Stam, Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer. Today, the early tubular steel furniture designs are considered milestones in design history. Their clear, open and simple forms were an expression of a new attitude in everyday culture and architecture, which became famous under the catchphrase “New Objectivity”. Currently, numerous successful classic models are still in the product line, among them the first cantilever chair S 33 for which Mart Stam was awarded the artistic copyright for its form and basic principle, as well as models S 32 and S 64 by Marcel Breuer.

The company has its head offices in Frankenberg in the north of Hesse since 1938. Today, all bentwood and tubular steel classics as well as the contemporary collections are produced here in a facility with cutting- edge production equipment and a staff of workers with vast experience to draw upon. GebrüderT1819 still develops innovative products that stand out due to their quality materials and timeless formal language and always take sustainability and durability under consideration.