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 combined Scandinavian craft traditions and his own affinity to nature with the functional ideas of the Bauhaus. This led to an exchange of ideas with Marcel Breuer, which later influenced the work of both men.

Armchair No. 42 was presented for the first time at an exhibition held in conjunction with the Nordic Building Forum in 1932. With a simple three-part construction, the design ensures a high degree of comfort: the cantilever base flexes in response to the user's weight and the plywood seat shell follows the contours of the body. In recognition of its pleasant tactile qualities and favorable insulating properties, Aalto executed the chair in natural birchwood with a black or white lacquer finish for the seat shell.

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.