For over two decades, the Vitra Design Museum has been making miniature replicas of milestones in furniture design. The Miniatures Collection encapsulates the entire history of industrial furniture design - moving from Historicism and Art Nouveau to the New Objectivity of Bauhaus and Radical Design, and from Postmodernism all the way up to the present day. Exactly one sixth of the size of the historical originals, the chairs are all true to scale and precisely recreate the smallest details of construction, material and color. The high standard of authenticity even extends to the natural grain of the wood, the reproduction of screws and the elaborate handicraft techniques involved. This has made the miniatures into popular collector's items as well as ideal illustrative material for universities, design schools and architects.

In his designs, Alvar Aalto combines the functional ideas of the Bauhaus with the Scandinavian crafts tradition and a strong sense of unity with Nature. This led to an exchange of ideas with Marcel Breuer and later influenced the work of both men.

Aalto designed Armchair No. 41 for the Sanatorium of the City of Paimio in Finland, a building for which he also created the plans and interior design. The armchair is of a simple, highly effective construction, because the rolled-up ends of the seat and back also function as springs, affording the sitter a degree of comfort hitherto unknown in wooden furniture. The armchair was also exceptionally well suited for series production, as it involves very few components and thus little assembly work.

Each Vitra miniature is true to the original in construction and materials, and reduced in size on a scale of 1:6. Each miniature is packaged in a wooden box, accompanied by an informational booklet. Production notes: Each of the delicate objects are made by hand; on average, each miniature requires five hours of careful manual work. Ongoing quality control ensures that every miniature corresponds to its larger original in terms of finishing, details and materials.