This chair is believed to be a steel prototype for Breuer's 'Aluminium Short Chair', part of a range of Breuer's aluminium furniture imported to England for his redesign of the interiors of the home of Crofton Gane in Bristol. He would go on to design long and short versions of this chair, which was available in aluminium or band steel with upholstery for indoor use, waterproof upholstery for outdoor use, or with a wooden slat seat for outdoors.

Breuer made his first designs for aluminium chairs in 1932 and applied for a patent and design registration in Germany in November 1932. By November 1933, he had signed contracts with four companies, including Embru-Werke A.G. in Switzerland, who manufactured this prototype.

Breuer's lounge chairs were conceived as cantilevered structures with additional supports. The difference in the lounge chairs was that the seat was both suspended between and held up by the arms, which were the main load-bearing element of the design. His talent for careful detailing is evidenced by the twist the aluminium bar was given behind and in front of the wooden armrest, adding strength for the arm at a critical stress point.