Chair of the Week: Michael Thonet Model No. 14 (1860)

This recurring column looks at great moments in sit down design. The furniture in your crib is as important as the art on your walls and the clothes on your body, so hopefully this series helps you recognize awesomeness when you see it. Today's is as classic as they come.

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Complex Original

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This recurring column looks at great moments in sit down design. The furniture in your crib is as important as the art on your walls and the clothes on your body, so hopefully this series helps you recognize awesomeness when you see it, whether that's while shopping at Design Within Reach or talking to your latest lady friend's gallery owner.

By Nick Schonberger

After 25 years experimenting with bending steamed wood and producing innovative "bentwood" furniture, Michael Thonet and his sons created the No. 14 as the first mass-produced seating furniture on the market. It has become a certified design classic, selling more than 50 million units between 1860 and 1930. Mid-century design icons, like Le Corbusier, praised the chair for its precision and practicality. Today, the No. 14 is called the 214 and it continues to influence designers and artists, including the amazing sculptures of Pablo Reinoso. Few other (read none) chairs have enjoyed constant production for over 140 years, something that makes new collaborative editions by inventive brands like Muji all the more interesting and appropriate.

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