Orgatec 2012 Preview Part 1: The Ergonomic Office Chair – Anno 1928

Browsing through the catalogue for the exhibition “Der Stuhl” in Stuttgart one item in particular caught our attention: “Der Federdreh by Albert Stoll, Waldshut (Baden)” – and not just because it is a delightful piece of woodworking.

Loosely translated as “The Sprung Swivel” Der Federdreh does what it promises – swivels and has spring suspension.

Might not sound that interesting, but back then Der Federdreh was the very first chair of its kind. Anywhere.

Consequently Der Federdreh is, in effect, the great, great grandfather of all modern ergonomic office chairs.

And also a further wonderful indication of the Zeitgeist and general mood of change for the better in 1920s Europe that “Der Stuhl” so perfectly captured.

Owing to one of those company fissions that define the contemporary furniture industry, the exact provenance of Der Federdreh is sadly difficult to confirm without resorting to long bibliographic searches.

Two manufacturers claim to be the natural successor of the company who originally produced Der Federdreh: and both probably are. But we don’t want to get involved in decade old family squabbles.

And so all that we can confirm is that in 1928 the German company Albert Stoll presented Der Federdreh in Stuttgart.

And since then office workers around the globe have been thankful.

In addition to offering a height adjustable seat with adjustable sprung suspension, Der Federdreh also offered a sprung, height adjustable backrest.

A backrest which is convivially shaped to allow a jacket to be hung over it, thus completing a truly fascinating piece of work.

And in 1930 “Albert Stoll” further improved Der Federdreh, and created another global first – they put castors on the chair and so created the first mobile, ergonomic, swivel suspension office chair.

Remember that, and be thankful, next time you have chair races round the office while the boss is OOO.

In a few weeks we’ll be making our biannual pilgrimage to Orgatec to check out the latest developments and advances in the world of office furniture, including no doubt numerous “new” ergonomic office swivel chairs.

The question is how many will be as genuinely revolutionary as Der Federdreh. And how many will simply be poor imitations of an 85 year old design classic?

We’ll keep you posted…..

Der Federdreh by Albert Stoll, Waldshut (Baden) Original advert from the catalogue to "Der Stuhl" Stuttgart, 1928