One of the most common questions I get is when somebody shows me a picture of a bit strange looking Panton Chair and asks if it´s an original “prototype” or a “pre-serie” version of the Panton Chair in the 60:ies.

So far, none of the hundreds of chairs I have been sent pictures of are likelly originals. I know a handful of pre-serie chairs or so called prototypes and most of them are at the Vitra museum or in the collection of the Panton familly. Besides those, I have two pre-serie chairs from 1967 myself and then I have seen another in red wich I also beleive is a real “pre-serie” version from 1967.

Around 1959, Verner developed a model of this chair for Plus Linje. As far as I can see in old pictures it was two different models back then. (One is at the Vitra Museum). The following years after that, Verner worked together with people at Vitra and in 1967 the first “pre-serie” chairs in polyester were made in 150 copies. These were presented on the cover of Mobilia magazine in august 1967.

In the biggest picture above you can see the difference between the real original “pre-serie” Panton Chair and the first serial produced chair in 1968. The easiest way to determine is to look at the base towards the floor. The “pre-serie” version has a very thin edge and the serial produced chair in Baydur has a thicker edge.