1950's Charles and Ray Eames DCW Plywood Chairs for Herman Miller, Pair
View Similar Items
1950's Charles and Ray Eames DCW Plywood Chairs for Herman Miller, Pair
About the Item
- Creator:Herman Miller (Manufacturer),Charles and Ray Eames (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 28.75 in (73.03 cm)Width: 19.25 in (48.9 cm)Depth: 22 in (55.88 cm)Seat Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Minor fading. Overall good condition and stable. Showing moderate, age-appropriate wear. Both chairs are in equal condition with scattered impressions, scratches, and few veneer loses. One chair has replaced the single wide shock mount to the backrest.
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU7362232221822
Eames DCW Chair
Although their ubiquitous leather lounge might be more recognizable, there’s arguably no chair that better embodies the design ethos of Charles and Ray Eames (1907–78; 1912–88) than the DCW dining chair. It was introduced at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art in a 1946 exhibition titled “New Furniture Designed by Charles Eames.” (Ray was notably absent from the exhibition title, despite being a full collaborator on the work.)
In its design, construction and manufacturing, the DCW is pure Eames. It was born of functionality and comfort, crafted in a shape that the ever-inquisitive Eameses decided would provide optimal support for a large number of people. “We found that comfort depended more on the perfect molding to the body shape than it did on the way the bone structure was supported,” Charles noted in a 1954 film on the piece. “If the structure was supported properly, the hard and rigid material, like molded plywood, can provide a remarkably high degree of comfort.”
This proper support is the result of the chair’s five distinct parts: a pair of two-legged bases, a bentwood seat, a bentwood back and a long piece of bentwood that connects each of these. Such construction allows for a certain flexibility in movement between the seat and the back without requiring any type of complicated adjustment mechanism.
The Eameses developed the DCW while tinkering with the “Kazam! Machine,” a mechanism they invented to press and mold wood veneer. In their Los Angeles apartment, the couple would place a sheet of wood veneer into the machine, then top it with a layer of glue. After repeating these steps 5 to 11 times and ensuring the layers were set in place, the Kazam! Machine was clamped shut and a bicycle pump inflated a balloon to press the layers into their molded shape. Charles and Ray then cut the mold and sanded each finished shape by hand.
The Kazam! Machine was a direct result of Charles and Ray’s determination to conceive an efficient, inexpensive means of production. Plywood, too, was a significant choice. Not unlike the molded plastic with which the Eameses would experiment, plywood was relatively cheap and easily available, rendering it optimal for the kind of democratic design the couple championed.
The Eames DCW chair has appeared (and continues to appear) in interiors by top designers all over the world. Today, it remains a top seller for Herman Miller — with equal credit given to Charles and Ray.
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Eames and Ray Eames were the embodiment of the inventiveness, energy and optimism at the heart of mid-century modern American design, and have been recognized as the most influential designers of the 20th century.
As furniture designers, filmmakers, artists, textile and graphic designers and even toy and puzzle makers, the Eameses were a visionary and effective force for the notion that design should be an agent of positive change. They are the happy, ever-curious, ever-adventurous faces of modernism.
Charles (1907–78) studied architecture and industrial design. Ray (née Beatrice Alexandra Kaiser, 1912–88) was an artist, who studied under the Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann. They met in 1940 at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in suburban Detroit (the legendary institution where Charles also met his frequent collaborator Eero Saarinen and the artist and designer Harry Bertoia) and married the next year.
His technical skills and her artistic flair were wonderfully complementary. They moved to Los Angeles in 1941, where Charles worked on set design for MGM. In the evenings at their apartment, they experimented with molded plywood using a handmade heat-and-pressurization device they called the “Kazam!” machine. The next year, they won a contract from the U.S. Navy for lightweight plywood leg splints for wounded servicemen — they are coveted collectibles today; more so those that Ray used to make sculptures.
The Navy contract allowed Charles to open a professional studio, and the attention-grabbing plywood furniture the firm produced prompted George Nelson, the director of design of the furniture-maker Herman Miller Inc., to enlist Charles and (by association, if not by contract) Ray in 1946. Some of the first Eames items to emerge from Herman Miller are now classics: the LCW, or Lounge Chair Wood, and the DCM, or Dining Chair Metal, supported by tubular steel.
The Eameses eagerly embraced new technology and materials, and one of their peculiar talents was to imbue their supremely modern design with references to folk traditions. Their Wire chair group of the 1950s, for example, was inspired by basket weaving techniques. The populist notion of “good design for all” drove their molded fiberglass chair series that same decade, and also produced the organic-form, ever-delightful La Chaise. In 1956 the Eames lounge chair and ottoman appeared — the supremely comfortable plywood-base-and-leather-upholstery creation that will likely live in homes as long as there are people with good taste and sense.
Charles Eames once said, “The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.” For very good collectors and thoughtful interior designers, a piece of design by the Eameses, the closer produced to original conception the better, is almost de rigueur — for its beauty and comfort, and not least as a tribute to the creative legacy and enduring influence of Charles and Ray Eames.
The collection of original Eames furniture on 1stDibs includes chairs, tables, case pieces and other items.
- Set of 6 Eames PSC Chairs for Herman Miller with UpholsteryBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Chicago, ILCharles and Ray Eames PSC chairs for Herman Miller Set of six circa 1980s with stitched beige color upholstery. Manufacturers stamp on underside of she...Category
Vintage 1980s Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
$3,500 Sale Price / set20% Off - Herman Miller La Fonda Coffee Table by Charles and Ray Eames, Marble TopBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Chicago, IL"La Fonda" coffee table by Ray and Charles Eames for Herman Miller 1975 The La Fonda table was part of the "La Fonda Group" Furniture line for Alexande...Category
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble, Chrome
- Mid-century George Nelson Secretary Dresser and desk for Herman Miller, 1960'sBy Herman Miller, George NelsonLocated in Chicago, ILGeorge Nelson Secretary for Herman Miller, 1960's Walnut Herman Miller tag on inside of drawer. 5 drawers and a pull-down desktop. Measures: ...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
MaterialsWalnut, Plywood
- Pair of Shelton Mindel Arm Chairs for Knoll, 2006 Upholstered SeatBy KnollLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Shelton Mindel chairs for Knoll, 2006. Lacquered wood, mohair. Knoll plaque and paper label on underside. Measures: 22”W x 23”D x 32”H. 2 Condition: These chairs a...Category
Early 2000s Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMohair, Bentwood
- Pair of Alvar Aalto Cantilever Chairs Model 406 by Artek in Birch Cane WebbingBy Alvar Aalto, ArtekLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Alvar Aalto, cantilevered chairs model 406. Laminated birch, cane. circa 1960 The model 406 chair was originally designed in 1938-39. 35"H x ...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsCane, Birch
- Shelton Mindel Chairs for Knoll, 2006By KnollLocated in Chicago, ILShelton Mindel chairs for Knoll, 2006. 2 Available Lacquered wood, mohair. Knoll plaque and paper label on underside. Condition: very good to excellent. Measures: 22”W...Category
Early 2000s Chairs
MaterialsMohair, Bentwood
$675 / item
- DCM Chair by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman MillerBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Los Angeles, CADCM chair (Dining metal chair) by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. Designed in 1946, this molded plywood + chromed ste...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsPlywood
- 70 Chairs by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Los Angeles, CAWe have 65 of the these original Herman Miller polypropylene molded chairs designed by Ray and Charle Eames. We have 65 white chairs.Category
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller Plywood DCW Dining Chairs, 1950s Set of 2By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in London, GBThe DCW chair was originally released in 1946, with Herman Miller taking over the manufacture of the chairs in 1950. This lasted until 1953 when the chairs were taken out of producti...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsPlywood
- 16 DCM Chairs by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Los Angeles, CADCM chair (Dining metal chair) by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. Designed in 1946, this molded plywood + chromed steel chair is a classic design. Sometimes referred to as the "potato chip chair...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- 1950, Ray & Charles Eames for Herman Miller Set DSS Fiberglass Stacking ChairsBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Amsterdam IJMuiden, NLThis chair is part of the private collection of Casey Godrie and is situated in his private house. Ask him for competitive shipping quotes. His incredible Dune Villa, Amsterdam Beac...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- 1948, Ray & Charles Eames for Herman Miller, Fiberglas Stacking Side ChairBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Amsterdam IJMuiden, NLThis item is part of the private collection of Casey Godrie and is situated in his private house. Ask him for competitive shipping quotes. His incredible Dune Villa, Amsterdam Beach...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
A Guide to Herman Miller’s Most Iconic Furniture
The prolific manufacturer has partnered with many of the world’s top designers since opening its doors in 1923. Here are some of the company’s greatest hits, which helped transform the American home and office.
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.