J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
While the first name that comes to mind when thinking of bentwood furniture might be Thonet (maker of the iconic Thonet No. 14 chair or “bistro chair”), Michael Thonet and his subsequent studio, the Gebrüder Thonet (Thonet Brothers), had a strong competitor in 19th-century Vienna: Jacob & Josef Kohn (also referred to as J. & J. Kohn). Mundus-Kohn was the name given to a short-lived company owing to an early 20th-century merger between J. & J. Kohn and Mundus, a Viennese firm that Rudolf Weill & Co.'s Leopold Pilzer founded in 1907.
Founded in 1849 by a father and son with the motto “Be one step ahead,” Jacob & Josef Kohn created modern furniture for indoors and out from Austrian beech. At the turn of the 20th century, after establishing itself with mastery of everything from chairs to coatracks and even doll furniture, J. & J. Kohn began working closely with the Wiener Werkstätte, the artisan cooperative cofounded by Austrian architect and designer Josef Hoffmann (Gustav Klimt and Koloman Moser were also members). Through this partnership, J. & J. Kohn produced an array of furniture in bentwood, cane and upholstery, which it sold through showrooms across Europe and North America. Its designs throughout the first decade of the 20th century reflect the Art Nouveau movement that was quickly gaining traction across Europe.
Price wars and mergers ensued during the First World War. Changes in the organizational structure of Thonet included a merger with Viennese company Mundus in the early 20th century, which followed Mundus’s becoming a majority stakeholder in J. & J. Kohn — these mergers yielded the formation of Mundus-Kohn and later, in 1922–23, Thonet-Mundus.
The new conglomerate went on to produce examples of its bentwood furniture in keeping with the modern style of the Vienna Secession. While Thonet rebuilt, rebranded and expanded in the United States and elsewhere after World War II, J. & J. Kohn never produced furniture under that name again.
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Early 20th Century European Vienna Secession J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood
Early 1900s Austrian Vienna Secession Antique J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Upholstery, Beech
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Chrome
1910s Austrian Vienna Secession Vintage J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Beech, Bentwood
Early 1900s Austrian Vienna Secession Antique J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Wood
Early 20th Century Czech Vienna Secession J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Cane, Bentwood
Early 20th Century Austrian Vienna Secession J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Beech, Bentwood
20th Century Polish J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Beech
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Upholstery, Birch, Bentwood
20th Century Polish Mid-Century Modern J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Cane, Beech, Bentwood
1910s Austrian Vienna Secession Vintage J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Beech, Bentwood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Wood
Early 1900s Austrian Vienna Secession Antique J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Fabric, Beech
Early 20th Century Austrian Vienna Secession J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Bentwood
1910s Czech Vienna Secession Vintage J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Velvet, Beech
Early 20th Century European Vienna Secession J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Upholstery, Wood
1910s Austrian Jugendstil Vintage J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Alabaster
Early 20th Century Czech Vienna Secession J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Bentwood
Early 20th Century Austrian Art Nouveau J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Bentwood
Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Antique J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Bentwood
Early 20th Century Polish Vienna Secession J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Beech, Bentwood
Early 20th Century American J & J Kohn & Mundus Armchairs
Upholstery, Linen