Eames Lounge Chair Wood
Encyclopedia
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Ormond Eames, Jr and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" Eames were American designers, who worked in and made major contributions to modern architecture and furniture. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film.-Charles Eames:Charles Eames, Jr was born in...
.
The chair was designed using technology for molding
Molding (process)
Molding or moulding is the process of manufacturing by shaping pliable raw material using a rigid frame or model called a pattern....
plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
that the Eames developed before and during The Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Before American involvement in the war, Charles and his friend, architect Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
, entered a line of furniture into the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
's "Organic Furniture Competition" in 1940, exploring the natural evolution of furniture in response to the rapidly changing world. Charles and Eero won the competition. However, production of the initially designed chairs was postponed due to production difficulties, and then by the United States entry into WWII.
This interruption proved fortuitous to Charles. He began making molded plywood splint
Splint
Splint may refer to:* Splint , a medical device for the immobilization of limbs or spine* Splint , a device for checking computer programs...
s for the U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. The splints were modelled after his own leg and allowed him to hone the technique of molding the plywood into complex curves. The LCW was a result of this experience. Parallel manufacturing techniques, also during World War II, were used by Isidor Zuckermann's firm in the United Kingdom to manufacture types of aeroplane wings and submarine parts.
Design
Initially Charles had set out to find a solution to providing affordable, comfortable furniture that could be easily mass produced. His entries into the Organic Furniture competition were designed to have the seat and backrest joined in a single 'shell'. The plywood, however, was prone to crack when bent into the sharp angles and had to be covered with upholsteryUpholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English word upholder, which referred to a tradesman who held up his goods. The term is equally applicable to domestic,...
. Through extensive trial and error Charles and Ray arrived at an alternate solution: create two separate pieces for the seat and backrest, joined by a plywood lumbar support, with plywood legs. The result was a comfortable chair with a sleek and modern appearance. The seat was joined to the lumbar support and legs with a series of four heavy rubber washers with nuts embedded in them (later these came to be called 'shock mounts'). The shock mounts were glued to the underside of the seat, and screwed in through the bottom of the chair. The backrest was also attached using shock mounts. The rubber mounts were pliable, allowing the backrest to flex when the chair is occupied. This was one of the first examples of a chair with a responsive backrest. This unique technology is also one of the chair's greatest flaws. The shock mounts are securely glued to the wooden backrest, but may tear free if excessive pressure is applied, or if the rubber becomes brittle. A common response to this problem was to drill directly through the backrest and insert fasteners between the backrest and the lumbar support. This greatly devalues the chair and mars the original aesthetic of the smooth, uninterrupted wooden forms.
Even though the plywood chair was a compromise of the Eames' vision to create a single shell chair it still constituted a successful design. Following the LCW the Eames created a family of plywood chairs. The all-plywood Dining Chair Wood (DCW) was constructed in the same manner as the LCW, but with a narrower seat, and longer legs. The Lounge Chair Metal (LCM) and Dining Chair Metal (DCM) were constructed of the same plywood seats and backrests as the LCW & DCW set on a welded metal frame.
Coming out of an age where furniture was heavy and complex; made from multiple materials and then covered in upholstery, the Eames design was a refreshing new way of looking at furniture and furniture design. The chair was produced in a short run by Evans Molded Plywood of Venice Beach, California for Herman Miller furniture company. Herman Miller later absorbed the production of the chairs and has continued producing them until present day (a brief period existed when the chairs were out of production). In Europe, Vitra
Vitra (furniture)
Vitra is a Swiss manufacturer of designer furniture. Vitra is the European manufacturer and retailer of the works of many internationally renowned furniture designers...
became the producers of Eames furniture. These are the only two companies producing chairs licensed by the Eames estate as represented by the Eames Office.
Collectible
The chair continues to be an icon of Modern DesignModernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
. It is valued for its comfort as well as a status symbol. Original production models are highly valued by collectors. Herman Miller offered the LCW in a variety of wood veneers over the molded maple inner plies. The dates below refer to Herman Miller/North American production. No information on Vitra/European production was available.
| Finish type | Year(s) produced |
|---|---|
| Mahogany Mahogany The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany.... |
1946-48 |
| Rosewood Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,... (dalbergia nigra) |
1946-48, 1961–66 |
| Rosewood Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,... (santos palisander) |
2007–present |
| Oak Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus... |
1953 |
| Avodire | 1946-51 |
| Canaletta | 1946-47 |
| Slunkskin | 1948-53 |
| Cowhide Cowhide Cowhide is the natural, unbleached skin and hair of a cow. It retains the original coloring of the animal. Cowhides are a natural product/by-product of the food industry from cattle. Cowhide can also be processed into a leather, which can be used to make such things as shoes, wallets and leather... |
2009–present |
| Fabric Fabric A fabric is a textile material, short for "textile fabric".Fabric may also refer to:*Fabric , the spatial and geometric configuration of elements within a rock*Fabric , a nightclub in London, England... |
1948-53 |
| Leather Leather Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:... |
1948-53 |
| Lacquered Red | 1994–2008, 2009–present |
| Lacquered Black | 1994–2008, 2009–present |
| Aniline Dyed Yellow | 1946-48, 2009-May 2010 |
| Aniline Dyed Red | 1946-58, 2009–present |
| Aniline Dyed Black | 1946-66, 2009–present |
| Aniline Dyed Orange, Blue, Green, White | 2009-May 2010 |
| Walnut Walnut Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories... |
1946-58, 1962–66, 1994–present |
| Natural Cherry Cherry The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium.... |
1994–present |
| Birch Birch Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa... |
1946-58 |
| Calico Ash | 1994–present (This can't be accurate- Calico Ash was an option on the 1951 order form) |
| Zebrawood Zebrawood thumb|300px|ZebrawoodThe name zebrawood is used for wood with a figure that resembles the striping of a zebra, with dark stripes on a light background... |
1954-59 |
| Teak Teak Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the... |
1955-61 |
The value of these chairs to collectors depends on many variables. Generally speaking chairs that are in true original condition are valued the highest, especially those from the earliest production by Evans Co, with red being the most desirable. Modifications to the backrest, damages to the veneer, and excessive wear will reduce value.