Demountable wooden chair CB 22, 1947
In 1947 the Ateliers Jean Prouvé returned to their wartime research into a new wood or metal knock-down chair. Because of a continuing shortage of metal or, perhaps, the rapid expansion of the private home market, the initial emphasis was on a wooden model that gradually replaced the Tout Bois chair. The arrival of a “do-it-yourself chair” was announced by Jean Prouvé during the Meubles de France competition in 1947. The CB 22 comprises two solid wood lateral bases held together by two braces—threaded shanks inside metal tubes—bolted on the outside. One early version was quite complicated to assemble, especially in respect of the mortise and tenon attachment of the molded plywood back and seat to the frame. The definitive model was simpler, and stresses the knockdown character of the chair with metal washers at the assembly points. The front washers were in some cases extended along the leg by a plate. The back and seat were initially fixed to the frame with screws, then with tapped studs. The tubes protecting the braces are of steel or aluminum. The CB 22 chair then chair no. 301, symbolically shown disassembled on the cover of the Ateliers Jean Prouvé furniture catalog in 1951, was manufactured until 1953.