Fritz Hansen 1872

When Christian E. Hansen took over Fritz Hansen & Co from his father, in 1899, at only 25 years old, the company was known to be a reliable manufacturer of quality furniture. Hansen built on that reputation, bringing in his training as both a joiner and an architect to collaborate with his fellow architects. This decision elevated the company’s reputation and secured its future as an internationally-renowned production house. Designer and architect partnerships are a practice that continues at Fritz Hansen today.

Hansen’s first collaboration began in 1905 with the accomplished Danish architect Martin Nyrop. Nyrop approached Fritz Hansen to manufacture furniture for the Copenhagen Town Hall, which he designed both in-side and out. Following this success, Fritz Hansen & Co collaborated with some of the most important Danish architects of the day, including Thorvald Jørgensen and Kai Gottlob. In addition, the company produced furniture for the Danish Parliament at Christiansborg Palace, the Frederiksberg Courthouse, and the Supreme Court, among others.

Fritz Hansen was trained as a joiner and a cabinetmaker, but he was first and foremost a visionary.

In 1872, Fritz Hansen had just finished his apprenticeship and could call himself both a joiner and a cabinetmaker. At the tender age of 25, he had big plans for the future. He obtained a trade license and moved from the small Danish town of Nakskov to Copenhagen, where he set up a modest workshop.

Fritz Hansen was a true master of his craft, and from the very beginning he established a reputation for exquisite craftmanship and quality, which lives on today.

In 1932, Christian E. Hansen’s sons Poul and Søren Hansen became co-directors of Fritz Hansen. Poul was a trained cabinetmaker and Søren was a joiner. Both had already influenced Fritz Hansen with their enthusiasm for functionalism inspired by the Bauhaus School: an industrial design aesthetic they had seen while travelling Europe, but as-yet little known in Denmark. While Søren developed new products, Poul managed production. The brothers played an important role in the production of steel chairs in Denmark and in introducing functionalism to Danish design.

Working with renowned Danish architects, the Hansen brothers incorporated steel furniture techniques into steam-bent wood chairs. One of Poul and Søren Hansen’s key steel furniture collaborations was with brothers Flemming and Mogens Lassen. These designs were influenced by visionary Bauhaus architect Mies van der Rohe. While the Lassen brothers’ furniture was not as functional as van der Rohe’s, theirs paired cool steel with an inviting and warm Danish aesthetic that Bauhaus furniture often lacked. The Lassen brothers’ designs proved successful with Danish customers.

Early in the 20th century, the forward-thinking son of Fritz Hansen, Christian E. Hansen, began experimenting with a new production technique: steam-bending wood.

Industrially-produced steam-bent wood furniture had been manufactured at the German-Czech company Thonet-Mundus since the 1830s. By 1912, the company had an annual output of more than two million pieces, including the hugely successful No. 14 Vienna cafe chairs, designed in 1859. Much to the chagrin of Christian E. Hansen, the production method itself was a company secret. Hansen sought to uncover the mystery behind the technique.