Carl Hansen & Son


Hans Wegner’s Wishbone Chair


Hans Wegner’s Three-Legged Shell Chair



Company Profile
The company Carl Hansen dates back to 1908 when Carl Hansen started his cabinet maker workshop. Back then, customers came to the cabinet maker when they needed new furniture, and the inspiration to the designs was borrowed from pictures. Sketches were drawn and discussed with the cabinet maker, and the furniture was custom built. At the end of the 1920s, the small company started cooperating with a couple of furniture designers with the purpose of manufacturing furniture in series. The Windsor armchair 18A, which is still in production, is an example. Its drawings date back to 1928.. It was in 1949, that the contact to architect Hans J. Wegner was established and his designs of fine chairs resulted in enormous progress for the Carl Hansen factory. The machinery went into higher revolutions, sales increased and an export business took off.


The Wishbone Chair is a light and extremely comfortable chair. Wegner designed the chair for Carl Hansen already in 1949. Still today, it is by far the most popular of Wegner’s chairs. A true classic.



Wegner’s Three-Legged Shell Chair was introduced already in 1963, but it was not until the 90s when there was a growing interest in chairs of more individual designs that the chair got its breakthrough.


Today, Carl Hansen’s production is mainly based on Wegner’s designs. In 1947, Carl Hansen's son Holger Hansen joined the company and the name was consequently changed to the present, Carl Hansen & Son. When Holger Hansen died in 1962, Jul Nygaard took over and managed the company until 1988 when one of Holger Hansen's two sons, Jørgen Gerner Hansen entered. Today, Knud Erik Hansen is managing director of the company at its newly opened domicile in Denmark.



Today, Carl Hansen & Son has a considerable export to Europe, North America, Australia and the Far East. As the designs have a special appeal to the Japanese people, the company has opened its own offices and repair shop in Japan to service this important market.


Wegner’s CH29 chair was designed in 1952. This extremely comfortable chair is mainly used in private dining environments but also restaurants have recognized its comfort in combination with its space saving dimensions.






The Wishbone chair is an obvious choice for private dining rooms or restaurants where space is a factor, or where you want to create the impression of spaciousness. The back offers good support and most people will feel comfortable sitting in the chair for a longer period of time.





The well-known Danish restaurant chain, A Hereford Beefstouw, chose the CH 29 chair for a number of their restaurants - among others in Tivoli Garden in Copenhagen and in Hong Kong's new airport.



Wegner’s Wishbone Chair, a piece of art that enhances its environment – wherever it is. Here in Restaurant Oubaek, in the province of Denmark.



The Wishbone Chair and The Wegner 318 Table in a classic Danish kitchen manufactured by the company Multiform.


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