The Thonet Rocking Chair. Piece of the Week.

The Thonet Rocking Chair. Its hard to think this design has been around since 1862. No-one seems to know who designed it. It was probably one of the first flat packs of its day, made up of simple bentwood elements that can be easily transported.

This is the first one I have bought and is in excellent condition having been recovered probably in the 1960's. Its not as simple as the later Joseph Hoffman designs but it is simple to equate this method of construction with the way furniture was to be designed by all, with cost of production and ease of assembly in mind.
Mies Van Der Rohe owes a debt of gratitude to Thonet and their pioneering use of beech. Van Deh Rohe would employ the use of simple shapes and use he strength of steel to design cantilevered shapes.


Beech is a tight grained timber that allowed the steaming of the wood and the immediate bending into shapes, that must have astounded when first retailed.
Or maybe they were criticised taking away the skill of the cabinet makers art. But what is in no doubt is that it helped make furniture affordable for the mass market.
 
http://www.classicartdeco.co.uk/furniture.php

Eric Knowles Calls In To Film "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is".

As part of filming for the BBC2 programme 

"Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is" Eric Knowles called in to do some filming.

I have not seen Eric for some time, well since he did the opening speech for the "Age of Jazz" an exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, that I was commissioned to construct a room setting for by Sue Lunt who curated it.

The programme goes out on Wednesday 18th April at 5.15 pm.
Here we are stopping for a chat during the brief period of the recent filming at my shop.
We were joking about the mileage we have to cover in this job, just to get the goods, then again to sell them.
I pulled his leg a bit about the velvet cushioned world of BBC's Antique Roadshow against the cut and thrust of reality. He has a sense of humour and it was all good fun. Hope I have not "Put my foot where my mouth is" It's a bit of fun and its right to take it in that spirit.