Thonet chair S 34

The Thonet S 34 armchair

The Thonet S 34 are armchairs with a frame made of chromed tubular steel. The upholstery of the chairs is made of core leather, which is also called core leather or blank leather. It is a moderately greased cowhide leather, which is tightened by means of tightening brackets. The leather is at least 2.5 mm thick and its strength makes it particularly resistant. Good blank leather is vegetable tanned for two to four months. Apart from cantilever chairs in the furniture sector, core leather is also used for saddles, bags, satchels or belts. Chair S34 is available in chocolate (dark brown) or black. The armrests are made of beech wood. The furniture is still produced by the manufacturer Thonet. You can also find the S 33 without armrests in the pro office store.

The architect and designer Mart Stam

Dutchman Mart Stam (1899-1986) is considered one of the inventors of cantilever chairs. In 1926 he developed the first cantilever chair made of tubular steel. This item was first exhibited in 1927 at the Weissenhofsiedlung, where it came to the attention of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Mies van der Rohe had previously developed ideas for a two-legged chair. The lightness in design was spectacular at the time, as it contrasted with the bulky furniture of the 1920s. The ergonomic advantages of swinging as opposed to a rigid sitting position only emerged in retrospect. Both Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer developed further cantilever chairs. The copyright was awarded to Mart Stam by the Reichsgericht Leipzig. Stam was a guest lecturer at the Bauhaus Dessau before working as an architect in Russia, Berlin and Switzerland.