HISTORY

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The history of modern and contemporary design begins on 16 July 1842 when the Austrian court granted Michael Thonet the right "to bend any type of wood, even the most brittle, into desired forms and curves by chemical and mechanical means".  The Thonet cafe chair is still manufactured today.  Jacob & Josepf Kohn founded their furniture company in Vienna in 1849 and when the patent expired for Michael Thonet's bending of wood, J&J Kohn quickly expanded production of bent wood chairs in addition to their other designs, such as the Sitzmachine (adjustable back chair) designed by Josef Hoffmann that is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.