Coat Rack
Object NameCoat Rack
Manufacturer
Thonet
(German (Frankenberg, Hesse, Germany), 1819 - 1922)
Datec. 1906
OriginUSA
MediumWood
Dimensions72 × 20 × 20 in. (182.9 × 50.8 × 50.8 cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineGift of Erwin Flick. In the Farm House Museum Collection, Farm House Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Object number76.1.12
Status
On viewCultureGerman
Label TextFrom the University Museums Collections Handbook, vol. 2, 2025:
Gebrüder Thonet was a European furniture manufacturer based in the German town of Frankenberg. The company was established in 1819 by Michael Thonet to produce original bentwood designs. Within a short period of time, Thonet became a major furniture manufacturer with a global distribution network. The firm was particularly known for their manufacture of bentwood furniture, for which they developed the first industrial- scale production process. This replaced previous individual craft skills with an investment in machinery that allowed any worker to produce accurate and repeatable components. Thonet exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London and their wares were sold throughout Europe and the United States for the rest of the century.
This Thonet bentwood coat rack stands sentinel at the Farm House’s front door as a welcome place to hang a coat during the cold Iowa winters.
Published ReferencesCatalogue of 1906 (https://museum-boppard.de/explore/thonet-varietyofproducts/#view)
Locations
- (not entered) Iowa State University, Farm House Museum
Object Name: Magazine Rack
Sarah Grant
1996-1997
Object number: U97.157
