Farmhouse Magic Blog loves a good research story so seeing the Thonet chairs, I knew this was my next research project. The vintage Thonet bentwood chairs are made in Sheboygan and were for sale at the ReStore shop.
Brief History of the Thonet Company
Bentwood chairs go back in history to 1850’s when Michael Thonet, a German Austrian cabinet maker, made simple and practical chairs.
Thonet named the early chairs, Model 14. These chairs, usually made of beech or ash, could be easily bent and would not break.
If you go to an ice cream parlor, you might see a Model 14 type chair.
Before World War II, the Thonet Company had plans to start chair production plants in the United States. Then in 1940, Leopold Pitzer, the head of Thonet at the time, purchased three plants in the US. One of the locations was in Sheboygan, Wisconsin which had a reliable water source to power the sawmills and also ample timber.
So began the American Chair Company of Sheboygan. At one point in history, Sheboygan actually had the nickname of “Chair City” because of all the chairs it made.
In 1969, the name of the company was changed to Thonet Industries.
Unfortunately, on April 19, 1982, a huge blast and fire occurred at the Sheboygan factory. Workers were able to remove completed chairs so they would not burn. However, the disaster and fire ended Thonet’s factory in Sheboygan. The Thonet company did not rebuild but moved the production to Pennsylvania.
Some of the Thonet chairs had cane seating.
The chair on the left, is not a Model 14 style chair.
Authentic Thonet Chairs
To determine if a chair is a real Thonet piece, it needs to have the name Thonet with a solid line carved into it some where under an arm, leg or chair underside.
The above Thonet chair from the Sheboygan factory, was made in the years of 1940 to 1982.
On today’s ReStore visit, I did not examine the chairs to see the location of Thonet label.
Floor Lamps
The below photograph shows a selection of lamps at the ReStore shop in the Reston/Herndon location.
Floor lamps are great for any area that needs a little more light and one of these lamps would be perfect in a reading nook.
The front lamp has metal lampshade.
3-Ton Jack Sands
These four 3-ton jack stands are useful in the garage for that do-it-yourself kind of person.
The wide pyramid base gives stable support to your project.
These 3-ton jack stands are individually priced.
Sliding Top Wooden Coffee Table
This wooden coffee table has an usual wedge shape and a sliding wooden door with an indentation.
The inside of this table allows for storage of remote controls, books or other items.
Assorted Dishes
Always check out the houseware/dishes section in ReStore shops because they get a wide variety of things you can use for entertaining or kitchen use.
The below photograph shows a one cup teapot set, a creamer, a pear design relish/fruit dish, and an assortment of glass bottles.
Ending Notes
All items on today’s blog page are available for purchase in the ReStore, Reston/Herndon store.
A Special Thank You to Paul for allowing me to blog and take photographs at the ReStore in the Herndon/Reston area.
This ReStore shop is run by the Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia, a non-profit organization. Remember to donate your useable furniture, small household goods, or unused building supplies to ReStore. For more details, please check their web site.
Sheboyganpress.com, the infidentkitchen.com, Wikipedia, Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, and www.upi.com were used to research today’s blog.