Machine à asseoir attribuée au professeur Josef Hoffmann, 1905

Armchair (“sitting machine” / “Morris armchair”) by Prof. Josef Hoffmann. Model number 670 (J.J.Kohn). Unfortunately there is no label/brand. The design is therefore unknown (but the object was probably built around 1910/1915). It is made of beech bow/plywood, has a brass rod & two seat cushions. The seat machine has visible signs of age-related wear. A restoration wouldn't hurt - I could organize that.

The dimensions in cm (H x W x D x SH x SB x ST): 108 x 63 x 83 x 27-40 x 50 x 53

Literature: Modern building forms - monthly magazines for architecture, M. J. Gradl, 1908 / p. 370 "Allegedly Loos, allegedly Hoffmann" Notes on the bentwood furniture of Viennese modernism, Sebastian Hackenschmidt, Wolfgang Thillmann, pp. 22-24 / Wagner, Hoffmann, Loos and the Viennese Modernism, Eva B. Ottilinger, 2018, p. 54 / Bent Wood - Constructive Designs Vienna 1840-1910, p. 78 / Wiener Werkstätte, Gabriele Fahr-Becker, Taschen, 1903-1932, p. 35 / Il mobile moderno , Gebrüder Thonet Vienna, Jacob & Josef Kohn, Giovanni Renzi, 2008, pp. 160-163 / Jacob & Josef Kohn, catalog 1904 & 1907, Éditions Volutes1900, p. 100 / Jacob & Josef Kohn, catalog 1907

Prof. Josef Hoffmann designed an adjustable armchair for the Purkersdorf sanatorium, which was later mass-produced by the Jacob & Josef Kohn company. As early as 1901, Hoffmann had clearly formulated his views on material honesty and functionality in his work “Simple Furniture”: “I think that above all you should take into account the respective purpose and the material. The sense of good proportions and the innate tact in choosing the means will automatically determine the value.” The well thought-out and functional structure of this piece of furniture is particularly evident in the so-called seating machine, as the armchair is also called. It has an adjustable backrest, a partially extendable board for putting your feet up and a newspaper compartment under the seat. For the first time, the construction itself was made the central principle. The “Morrisfauteuil”, as the seat machine is sometimes called, a comfortable armchair with an adjustable backrest, is associated with William Morris (1834–1896), a co-founder of the English Arts and Crafts movement. Morris had produced a design by William Watt in the 1880s that became known as the “Morris Chair.” In 1903, the Gebrüder Thonet company produced a richly decorated armchair with an adjustable backrest and published it in their “Thonet Central Anzeiger, 1903, Volume 3, p. 6”. Josef Hoffmann's famous sitting machine, which was produced by J. & J. Kohn from 1906 and presented at the 1908 art show in his country house, is also based on this model. Hoffmann's version is characterized by rectangular and geometric bentwood elements as well as decorative cut-out plywood back and side parts and is one of the most famous designs of Viennese modernism. It was/is exhibited as an art object in various exhibitions and museums: Milan Exhibition (April, 1906) / Imperial Royal Austrian Exhibition in London (1906) / Landhaus Josef Hoffmann (art show, 1908) / Leopold Museum in Vienna (since 2017 ) / Court Furniture Depot in Vienna / Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna (inventory number: H3927) / Vitra Design Museum / The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (inventory number: 2004/2016) and much more.