Early Charles & Ray Eames RAR rocking chair, early production, Herman Miller
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Milano, IT
An early European example of the iconic Charles & Ray Eames RAR rocking chair. The chair features its original fiberglass shell, distinguished by a richly textured surface with high...
Metal
Restored Herman Miller Eames Fiberglass Rocking Chair
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Restored 1960s Herman Miller Eames chair. Vintage fiberglass shell on later base of steel and wood runners. Signed and guaranteed authentic. Embossed with Herman Miller emblem undern...
Steel, Chrome
2018 Herman Miller Eames DSW-1 Dining Side Chair 19x Available
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames DSW-1 Side Chair, originally designed by Ray and Charles Eames for Herman Miller in 1948. These examples were produced by Herman Miller in the USA in 2018. Their des...
Steel
Charles Eames & Eero Saarinen “Organic Chair” Model No. A3501, 1950, USA
By Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames
Located in Biebergemund, Hessen
Very rare and collectible Eames & Saarinen "Organic Chair", winner of Organic Design competition at MoMa. First manufacture from the early 1950s, laminated and moulded wooden seat sh...
Fabric, Plywood
Rocking Chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Sagaponack, NY
An early example of the iconic RAR rocker with a molded, rope-edged fiberglass seat with large shock mounts, made by Zenith Plastics for Herman Miller, set upon cross-braced steel st...
Steel
Seldom seen shell color "Ochre Light "Charles Eames / Herman Miller side chair
By Charles Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Buffalo, NY
Iconic chair designed by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller. Molded fiberglass shell in seldom seen Ochre Light Color.. Mounted on vintage black steel H-base. chair in very good ...
Steel
2020 Pair of Herman Miller Eames Plastic DSW Dining Shell Chairs
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a pair of Eames DSW Side Chairs, originally designed by Ray and Charles Eames for Herman Miller in 1948. These examples were produced by Herman Miller in the USA in 2020. The...
Steel
Original Vintage Charles & Ray Eames RAR Rocking Chair for Herman Miller
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Materials: Fiberglass Shell, Iron Base, Birch Runners __________________________________ Transforming a piece of Mid-Century Modern furniture is like bringing history back to life, a...
Iron
Rocking Chair RAR by Charles & Ray Eames For Herman Miller, 1960s
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in bruxelles, BE
Fiberglass rocking chair. Stamped Herman Miller on the underside. Seat height: 40 cm. Wear due to time and the age of the chair. FOR SHIPPING, REQUEST US FOR RECEIVE THE BEST PRICE
Metal
1950 Herman Miller Eames Zenith RAR Rocking Chair w/ Rope-Edge Fiberglass Shell
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a ‘RAR’ Rocking Chair, designed by Ray and Charles Eames in 1950. This early example retains its Zenith Plastics/Herman Miller decal under the seat. We can date this “a...
Metal
1948, Ray & Charles Eames for Herman Miller, Fiberglas Stacking Side Chair
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Amsterdam IJMuiden, NL
This 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...
Metal, Chrome
Mid-Century Modern LCM Chair By Charles And Ray Eames, Herman Miller
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This iconic Midcentury Modern LCM chair is by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. The LCM chair was designed by the duo in 1946 and manufactured by Herman Miller in the late 40s...
Steel, Chrome
2022 Herman Miller Eames DAW Dining Chair with Fabric Seat and Eiffel Base
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames DAW Chair, originally designed by Ray and Charles Eames in 1950. This example was produced by Herman Miller in the USA in 2022. The chair features a molded shell tha...
Steel
Authentic RAR Rocking Chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller, 1960s
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Authentic and rare RAR Rocking chair designed by Ray & Charles Eames for Herman Miller. This rocking chair was manufactured in the 1960s. The rocking chair is in original vintage con...
Metal
C. 2020 Herman Miller Eames Plastic Side Shell Chair with Walnut Dowel Base
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames DSW plastic shell chair, originally designed by Ray and Charles Eames in 1950. This particular example was produced by Herman Miller in the USA C. 2020. The design f...
Steel
1946 Pair of Eames Evans DCW Dining Chairs in Calico Ash Wood
By Evans Products Company, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a pair of DCW Dining Chairs in Calico Ash, originally designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1946. These are ultra-rare, early examples that were produced by the Evans Plywood ...
Steel
C. 1953 Herman Miller Eames DCW Dining Chair with Red Aniline Dye Finish
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a DCW Chair, originally designed by Ray and Charles Eames in 1946. This particular example was produced by Herman Miller and dates to C. 1953. This chair is comprised entirel...
Plywood
1954 Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller DCM Chair in Calico Ash
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames DCM Side Chair, originally designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1946. This particular example dates to approximately 1954 and has its foil patent pending sticker int...
Steel
1951 Pair of Herman Miller Eames DAX Rope Edge Armshell Chairs in Greige
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a pair of circa 1951 production Herman Miller Eames DAX arm shell chairs with iconic rope edge. These are gorgeous original examples, which appear to be in greige....
Metal
1952 Rare Herman Miller Eames DCW Dining Chair in Walnut w/ Leather Upholstery
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a mega rare upholstered Eames DCW dining chair, dating to March of 1952. It has the 5-2-4 screw pattern underneath, indicating early Herman Miller production. Its also stampe...
Foam, Walnut, Leather
C. 1952 Rare Herman Miller Evans Eames DCM Chair w/ Original Upholstery & Label
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames DCM Side Chair, originally designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1946. This early example was manufactured circa 1952, and it appears to be a late Evans / early Herma...
Steel
1960s Set of Ten Herman Miller Eames DCM Dining Chairs in Brazilian Rosewood
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Philadelphia, PA
These are Eames DCM Side Chairs, initially designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1946. These examples date to the 1960s. The listed price includes the set of ten chairs as shown. Thei...
Steel, Chrome
2016 Herman Miller Eames Green Upholstered DSW Side Chair with Walnut Dowel Base
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames DSW Side Chair, initially designed by Ray and Charles Eames for Herman Miller in 1948. This example was produced by Herman Miller in the USA in 2016, and the listed ...
Steel
2018 Herman Miller Eames Dark Blue Upholstered DSW Side Chair w/ Dowel Base
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames DSW Side Chair, initially designed by Ray and Charles Eames for Herman Miller in 1948. This example was produced by Herman Miller in the USA in 2018, and the listed ...
Steel
C. 1949 Evans Eames DCM Dining Chair with Original Hair on Hide Upholstery
By Charles and Ray Eames, Evans Products Company
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an Eames DCM Chair, originally designed by Ray and Charles Eames in 1946. This particular example was produced by Evans in the USA C. 1949. The chair's design features a weld...
Steel
1954 Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller DCM Dining Chair w/ Ebonized Finish
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a DCM Chair, originally designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1946. This particular piece was produced by Herman Miller and retains its tag under the seat. This example dates ...
Steel
C. 1955 Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller DCM Chair in Calico Ash
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is an early DCM Chair, originally designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1946. The piece was produced by Herman Miller and retains its tag under the seat. This example was produce...
Steel
Eames RAR Rocking Armchair for Herman Miller
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Cincinnati, OH
A very nice iconic Mid Century designed molded fiberglass rocking arm shell chair in a parchment color . The satin black base is constructed in metal rods with birch wood runners giv...
Metal
Vintage Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller RAR Rocking Chair Restored in Go
By Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames
Located in SAINT LOUIS, MO
The classic Eames Rocker! A cult-favourite design gets an added oomph, restored in our cozy, soft, classicly-hued Gotland sheepskin. What a beautiful piece! Herman Miller USA, 19...
Sheepskin, Fiberglass, Birch
$1,400 / set
Pair Eames DCM in Worn Original Ebonized Finish
By Charles and Ray Eames, Charles Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Ferndale, MI
Pair of early production Dining Chair Metal DCM designed by the Charles and Ray Eames team . Black wrought iron frames support black aniline dyed wood seats and backs. Finish shows w...
Steel
Eames "Baby Rocker" RAR by Herman Miller
By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Highland, IN
If an employee of Herman Miller were to have a child, they were given an Eames "RAR" rocking chair to rock the newborn. It would be marked with a small placard commemorating the name...
Zinc
Classic Modernist Pair Plywood and iron chairs attrib to Wim Rietveld / eames st
By Gispen, Wim Rietveld
Located in Buffalo, NY
Classic Modernist Pair Plywood and iron chairs attrib to Wim Rietveld / eames style.. Classic modernist design,, 1950s Nice original condition,, retain they're original finish , pati...
Iron
1951 Herman Miller Eames PKW-1 with Leather Pad and Dowel Base
By Charles and Ray Eames
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a PKW-1 Chair, originally designed by Ray and Charles Eames. This example was produced by Herman Miller in the United States and dates to the year 1951. The chair is comprise...
Steel
Herman Miller, 2 Shell Fiberglass RAR Rockers by Eames (Old Edition)
By Charles Eames, Herman Miller
Located in Argelato, BO
An icon of Mid-Century design, this is an all-original example of the famous Eames Rocking (R) Armchair (A) on Rod (R) base. This extraordinary pair of rocking chairs, perhaps the m...
Fabric, Fiberglass
Eames Molded Armchair with Maple Rocker Base made 2009 by Vitra
By Charles and Ray Eames, Vitra
Located in Bridgeport, CT
Molded plastic arm chair by Ray Eames and produced by Vitra of Switzerland in 2009 according to label. Made from white molded plastic mounted on chrome legs and a rocker base of mapl...
Steel
Lounge Chair and Ottoman, Charles and Ray Eames, prod. Vitra, 1990
By Charles and Ray Eames, Vitra
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Lounge Chair and Ottoman, pair, Charles and Ray Eames, Vitra Production 1990s, United States, 1956 (original design). Bent plywood frame, white-colored leather upholstery, and die-ca...
Leather, Wood
Vitra, Miniature Lounge Chair & Ottoman by Charles and Ray Eames, 1956
Located in IT
Vitra – Miniature Lounge Chair & Ottoman; The Lounge Chair is one of Charles and Ray Eames' most famous creations. Designed in 1956, it has become a classic in the history of modern ...
Leather, Wood
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.
Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.
Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by celebrated manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.
Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.
Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.
Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.
The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.
Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.
With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.
Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.
No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.