The Lucky, Plucky Chairs

A charming tale of eight chairs, illustrated by Maira Kalman

When a set of eight classic old No. 14 Thonet chairs are threatened with certain doom, their ingenuity saves the day. Together they discover a way to escape, and encounter a world of the most wonderful and imaginative chairs from around the globe. The Thonets discover, too, that they have a talent for the stage. This charming tale by Rolf Fehlbaum, with delightful illustrations by Maira Kalman, is accompanied by a brief and informative glossary of 22 of the most innovative chairs created in 150 years. Rolf Fehlbaum (born 1941), a critical figure of design entrepreneurship, led the Swiss furniture company Vitra from 1977 to 2013. In the early 1980s he began to assemble a collection of modern furniture, which led to the foundation in 1989 of the Vitra Design Museum. Maira Kalman (born 1949) is an author and illustrator of numerous books for adults and children, including Fireboat: the Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey. She lives in New York City, where she is represented by the Julie Saul Gallery.