For full AUDIO/VISUAL page PLEASE CLICK HERE!
LISL FISCHER
An Old Rocking Chair
When Lisl
Fischer retired from the top of a large organization, the last thing
thing she thought of was a life doing nothing. Lisl Fischer had
simply too much to do. And, it was her eye for great beauty that
showed her the way to a brand new life of restoring old furniture. An
obvious step for someone like Lisl with her taste and passion for
antiques. And, it was Lisl's eye for not only beauty, but detail as
well that led her one day to an interesting discovery.
An old rocking chair in the attic of a
friend.
And, it
turned out, this was a very special chair. It was a Thonet, and was
more than 100 years old. But, this poor Thonet Rocker was not in good
shape. It was in need of repair. And, that meant very much work. But,
Lisl knew how and so she began.
To begin
with was the stripping of paint. In the
course of its more than 100 year life, this chair had had many new
coats of paint. But, sanding away these unwanted
layers was no easy job. In order to do this, Lisl had to completely
dismantle the chair, and, of course, not only number
and record every piece, but make a master plan, too. Without this
plan there would have been no putting together again.
And then,
after the reassembling came the new coats of varnish, 5
altogether. And, finally the cushioning. And, all in all, it took
Lisl Fischer more than 2 years of hard solid work to finish her
project. But, Lisl's hard work was worth every minute.
At the end
of each day, Lisl can now rock and relax in a chair that she brought
back to life. A chair made of beech that started
its life in a forest in far away Banat. And, of course, this chair
is part of a big history, too. It was made in the times of an empire
that finished a long time ago. And, Thonet, the company that produced
this wonderful rocking chair is also no more. But, thanks to Lisl
Fisher, this chair has survived and is now more impressive than ever.
Lisl
Fischer, a lady of now who kept her eyes open - and discovered a
piece of old history rocking away in the attic of a friend!
Vocabulary
attic - Dachboden
beech – Buche
discovery - Entdeckung
dismantle - auseinandernehmen
paint – Farbe
putting together -
Zusammenbauen
reassembling wieder
Zusammenbauen
rocking chair –
Schaukelstuhl
sanding – schleifen
stripping – Schleifen
Questions
What
did Lisl Fischer not think of when she retired?
Where
did Lisl Fischer discover the old rocking chair?
Was
the rocking chair in good condition?
How
long did it take Lisl to restore the rocking chair?
Where
did the rocking chair start its life?
What
was this rocking chair made from?
Who
was the Emperor when this chair was made?
