Charles and Ray Eames LCW Lounge Chairs, Early Production, circa 1950, Rare Pair
View Similar Items
Charles and Ray Eames LCW Lounge Chairs, Early Production, circa 1950, Rare Pair
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 27 in (68.58 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)Depth: 23 in (58.42 cm)Seat Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very good overall condition considering the age of this early production item.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU133025684703
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 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.
- Tandem Sling by Ray and Charles Eames for Herman Miller, Four-SeatBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Los Angeles, CARay and Charles Eames were commissioned to design the perfect utilitarian seating for the first international airports in 1962, created for comfort and convenience. For the modern-da...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsAluminum
$1,400 Sale Price / item55% Off - Charles Eames for Herman Miller Tandem Aluminum Lounge Chairs in Edelman LeatherBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Los Angeles, CAIncredible pair of restored and reimagined Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller, 1962 Collection, Tandem modular seating that was originally designed for Chicago O'Hare Airport, w...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Aluminum Group Desk Chairs by Charles Eames for Herman Miller, SignedBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller, Charles EamesLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis classic and stylish 'Aluminum Group' executive desk chair by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. Signed underneath seat with Herman Miller labels and production date September 2000. This beautiful office chair features black channel stitched seats and integrated seat backs with aluminum five star bases on casters with tilt adjust and height adjust mechanisms, and is height adjustable. Similar to the Soft Pad collection, also by Eames, which was based on the design of the Aluminum Group chairs with the addition of padded cushions. This iconic 'Aluminum Group' chair by Charles Eames for Herman Miller with its graceful silhouette and clean lines make it appropriate for a number of locations, from Classic and contemporary homes to elegant executive offices, home office or hip startups. Consider using in a Mid-Century Modern or Postmodern home...Category
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Time Life Desk Chair by Charles Eames for Herman Miller, 1984, Signed & DatedBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller, Charles EamesLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis rare color-way in beautiful red leather is the Time Life Executive Chair (Model ES-104) by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller, originally designed in 1960 for the Time Life...Category
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Pair of Brazilian Modern Fiberglass Lounge Chairs, circa 1960sBy Percival LaferLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis incredible pair of fiberglass lounge chairs were sourced in Rio, Brazil and recently imported and then restored here in Los Angeles. We are unsure the designer of these chairs, they were acquired along with a set of Percival Lafer fiberglass...Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
$5,200 Sale Price / set23% Off - Very Rare Model 175-C Sculptured Lounge Armchair by Vladimir Kagan, c 1950sBy Vladimir KaganLocated in Los Angeles, CAAn incredibly rare and highly sought-after Vladimir Kagan Model 175C 'Sculptured Walnut Arm Chair' designed in 1950 (see catalogue photo), this early product...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
$16,600 Sale Price27% Off
- Early LCW Lounge Chair in Birch by Charles & Ray Eames, Herman Miller, 1950sBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller, Charles EamesLocated in Vorst, BEAn early LCW (Lounge Chair Wood) in Birch. Produced by Herman Miller between 1952 and 1958 (the production of the LCW has been stopped in 1958 until its re-introduction in 1994). ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsPlywood, Birch
- Charles and Ray Eames, LCW Lounge Chair, circa 1960By Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Belmont, MACharles and Ray Eames. Iconic LCW lounge chair in black stained plywood, designed by Charles and Ray Eames, Manufactured by Evans / Herman Miller. The veneer and chair is in good o...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsPlywood
- 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
- A Pair of Charles Eames LCW's Early Original Examples EvansBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in St.Petersburg, FLA rare pair of early production (5x2x5 screw mounts) Charles Eames LCW (lounge chair wood). Original analine black finish in very good condition. Bac...Category
Vintage 1940s American Side Chairs
MaterialsAsh
- Eames Evans Red Aniline Dye LCW Lounge Chairs - Matched PairBy Charles and Ray Eames, Evans Products CompanyLocated in Brooklyn, NYSpectacular matched set of red aniline dye LCW lounge chairs, designed by Charles and Ray Eames and manufactured by Evans Product Company (before Herman Miller production). Aniline-...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsPlywood
- Eames Herman Miller DKR Chair on Early Production Low X-BaseBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Ferndale, MICharles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller DKR lounge chair. The chair is earlier production evidenced by the solid steel "X" base. Original burlap back...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$1,200 Sale Price33% Off
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
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.