Antonín Šuman

(1924 - 1998)

Designer, who focused in his work mainly on designs of seating furniture. Before WWII Šuman studied at Baťa's school of work and then at State school for furniture industry in Prague. In 1949 he started to work for TON company (former Thonet-Mundus) and stayed there until 1983. During that time he created over forty chair designs, from which some of them were the variations of classic Thonet models adjusted to the modern ways of production. His furniture won many awards, for example the "Product of the year" in 1967. Least but not least, he collaborated with many architects across former Czechoslovakia and helped to found the Museum of bentwood furniture in Bystřice pod Hostýnem.