Eames Birch Leg Splint for Evans Products Plywood Division
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Eames Birch Leg Splint for Evans Products Plywood Division
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 3.94 in (10 cm)Width: 42.52 in (108 cm)Depth: 7.88 in (20 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1943
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Amsterdam, NL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU171029668391
Charles Eames
The legacy of Charles Eames looms large in design. In partnership with his wife, Ray, Charles was at the forefront of pioneering innovation in the use of molded plywood for furniture making. The Eameses’ cheerful and inviting work has endured among the most important advancements in the history of 20th-century design.
Together, visionary mid-century modern duo Charles and Ray Eames introduced a wide range of renowned furniture to the postwar market, including iconic designs such as the Eames lounge chair and ottoman, the wildly colorful birch plywood-and-plastic-laminate Eames storage unit, the Eames compact sofa and more. The designers were trailblazers in molded plywood furniture and brought lively organic form to metal and plastic.
Charles Eames studied architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. He traveled to Mexico and Europe, and experienced firsthand the work of designer-architects Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In 1930, upon returning to Missouri, Eames opened an architecture practice with Charles M. Gray but later moved to Michigan in 1938. He received a fellowship at Cranbrook Academy of Art, which would become a breeding ground for the stars of mid-century design. Eames continued his architecture studies at Cranbrook and also taught in the design department.
In 1940, Eames met his future wife, artist and designer Beatrice Alexandra "Ray" Kaiser, who was studying at Cranbrook under Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann. Charles teamed up with another Cranbrook instructor, Finnish-American designer Eero Saarinen, to explore the possibilities of plywood for use in furniture design.
With support from Ray, Charles and Eero created chairs and case pieces and submitted them to the “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City — among them was the groundbreaking organic Side chair made of molded plywood with maple legs. It was upholstered by Heywood-Wakefield. This exhibition is considered critical by many to the popularization of what is known as mid-century modernism. Eames and Saarinen won first place for their submissions to the competition.
Charles and Ray were married in 1941 and soon after moved to Los Angeles, California, and lived in an apartment building designed by architect Richard Neutra. Charles worked on set design at MGM, and at night, in a humble workshop they established in the guest bedroom, he and Ray experimented with molded plywood on a homemade device they called the “Kazaam!” machine. In 1942, the couple won a U.S. Navy contract to create molded plywood leg splints that would be used to support wartime medical efforts. Soon, the Evans Product Company was making the splints and the Eameses opened the famed Eames Office and studio.
The Eameses’ innovative use of wire framing, molded plywood and applied fabrics caught the attention of many notable figures in interior design and architecture, including George Nelson, director of design at Herman Miller, a now-legendary modern furniture manufacturer. The company enlisted the Eameses’ talents and was eventually home to the couple’s classic pieces such as the Eames DCW chair and the DCM chair.
Find an extensive array of vintage Charles Eames seating, tables and case pieces on 1stDibs.
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.
- Charles & Ray Eames LCW Walnut Lounge Chair for Herman MillerBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray Eames, Charles EamesLocated in Amsterdam, NLIconic LCW lounge chair designed by Charles & Ray Eames in Walnut Plywood and manufactured by Herman Miller USA. The veneer and chair is in very good / excellent as new condition wit...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsRubber, Plywood
- Charles & Ray Eames DSX Side Chair Natural Multicolor Set for Herman MillerBy Charles Eames, Vitra, Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Amsterdam, NLIconic side chairs designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller / Vitra. Molded fiberglass shells in the colours: Parchment, Raw Umber, Elephant Hide Grey and Black. Assembled...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
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- Cees Braakman CB07 Secretaire in Birch red / blue plywood for Pastoe NetherlandsBy Cees Braakman, PastoeLocated in Amsterdam, NLStylish Secretaire Model CB07 designed by Cees Braakman and manufactured by Pastoe in the 1950s, the Netherlands. This Secretaire was part of the 'Birch Series' of Pastoe and inspire...Category
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Secretaires
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- Charles & Ray Eames DCW Ash dining chair with Dark Brown Leather seat for VitraBy Vitra, Charles and Ray Eames, Charles EamesLocated in Amsterdam, NLIconic DCW dining chair designed by Charles & Ray Eames and manufacture by Vitra, Germany. Solid Ash wood frames finished with matte lacquer. Seat and back panel is upholstered with ...Category
Vintage 1940s German Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Ash
- Eames EA108 Black Netweave Dining Chair by VitraBy Vitra, Charles and Ray Eames, Charles EamesLocated in Amsterdam, NLComfortable dining chairs in very good condition with normal light wear. Lightweight chrome-plated aluminum frame with swivel mechanism and black (very strong) netweave upholstery. S...Category
Vintage 1950s German Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsAluminum, Chrome
$1,083 / item - Multiple Eames Aluminum Group Chairs EA108 in Chrome and Red Leather, VitraBy Vitra, Charles and Ray Eames, Charles EamesLocated in Amsterdam, NLComfortable dining and/or conference chairs in very good / excellent condition with minimal light wear. Lightweight chrome-plated aluminium frame with...Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
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- Charles and Ray Eames Molded Plywood Leg Splint for Evans in Original WrapperBy Evans Products Company, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Chicago, ILThese leg splints were designed by Charles and Ray Eames and produced for the United States Navy by the Evans Products Company, molded plywood division. They're still in their origin...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Scientific Instruments
MaterialsPlywood
- Eames Office radio for EmersonBy Charles EamesLocated in Toronto, OntarioA nice radio design by the Eames office. Model 578A. Mahogany veneer case with plastic face and dials.Category
Vintage 1940s American Scientific Instruments
MaterialsMetal
- Antique Civil War Era Leg Brace or Splint with Metal, Brass & Wood ConstructionLocated in Hamilton, OntarioThis antique Civil War era primitive leg brace or splint is unsigned, but presumed to have been made in the United States in circa 1860. The brac...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century American Primitive Historical Memorabilia
MaterialsBrass, Cut Steel
- Original Eames Giant House of CardsBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Brooklyn, NYHighly collectible, 1950s Eames Giant House of Cards for Tigrett Enterprises. This scarce first-edition deck contains the original 20 large cards ...Category
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Games
MaterialsPaper
- Evans 1952 By Ross Blackinton Table Desk Automatic Lighter In Solid 925 SterlingBy R. Blackinton & Co., Evans Products CompanyLocated in Miami, FLTable-Desk automatic lighter designed by Evans. Very rare table-desk petrol lighter, created by the silversmith Ross Blackinton & Company for the Evans Lighter...Category
Vintage 1950s American Art Deco Tobacco Accessories
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$958 Sale Price20% Off - Designed for Life The World’s Best Product DesignersLocated in New York City, NYA global survey of 100 of the most creative and innovative product designers working today Designed For Life showcases 100 of the most exciting designers around the world and, through their work, shines a lens on what is happening at the forefront of contemporary product design. The boundaries between design, art, craft, fashion, and architecture have been blurred in recent years and a new generation of designers has emerged, working across different fields and genres. Products illustrated in the book range from furniture, lighting, and objects, to limited editions, glassware, and office systems, making Designed for Life the ideal route to new talent throughout the field of product design and the perfect way to assess exactly what is being created in the design scene today Chosen by an international line up of influential industry experts – design critics, museum curators, entrepreneurs, journalists, and gallerists – the nominated designers comprise young product designers who have emerged in the last few years, but who have already produced outstanding, creative, and innovative pieces of design, such as Mac Collins, Nifemi Marcus-Bello, Minjae Kim...Category
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