About Sebastian Vogel

Sebestyen Antal Vogel (1779 - 1837). Hungarian furniture manufacturer. He learned his craft in Pest and then spent two years abroad, mainly in Vienna. Bypassing the traditional division of labour determined by the guilds, he opened the first comprehensive furniture factory in Hungary in Pest in 1805, employing designers, carpenters, gilders, turners, bronze-founders, upholsterers and glassmakers in a single location; 130 craftsmen were involved by 1816. Vogel established distribution warehouses in several towns throughout Hungary. In addition to his own designs, he used French, English and Viennese designs for his furniture and introduced an element of Egyptian Revival influence into his decoration. After 1818 he used moulded composition ornaments, instead of bronze mounts, to produce less expensive pieces that became widely popular. The factory also created entire decorative schemes, including the interiors of the New German Theatre (1811), the National Casino (1827-30), both in Pest, and the pulpit and clergy stalls in the Protestant Reformed church of Debrecen. The firm closed after Vogel's death.