Very First Generation 1956 Eames Lounge Chair 670 and Spinning Ottoman 671

About the Item
- Creator:Charles and Ray Eames (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)Width: 35 in (88.9 cm)Depth: 32 in (81.28 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1956
- Condition:Reupholstered. Repaired: Complete top to bottom restoration done with new leather, new shock mounts, refinished frame, polished base and back connectors. Minor losses. In classic black and rosewood lacquered shell, this piece has been professionally restored by and includes all the original details: -three screw armrests -down feather filled cushions -special sized dome of silence -non-numbered back -underneath the.
- Seller Location:Seattle, WA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5748230446572
Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman
Long before it was the pièce de résistance in a collector’s office or an upscale bachelor pad — landing in ample design magazines, on television and in well-appointed offices over the years — the Eames lounge chair was a fresh, subversive new take on a classic club chair and a culmination of experimentation by its inventive creators.
Charles and Ray Eames (1907–78; 1912–88) met while studying at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, the prestigious Michigan institution that drew such illustrious design minds as Florence Knoll, Eero Saarinen and more. After graduation, they formed the Eames Office, where they spent much time exploring and formulating new techniques in bent plywood and fiberglass with the goal of producing affordable furniture for a mass market. The Eames lounger, on the other hand — with its signature wood-grain back and sumptuous (usually black) leather seat — was different.
While the couple’s DCW chairs, introduced in the 1940s, prioritized ease of production and affordability of materials, the lounge, which debuted in 1956, was Charles and Ray’s interpretation of luxury furniture. And to the Eameses, luxury meant, above all, comfort. The couple famously called the lounge chair and ottoman “a special refuge from the strains of modern living” and described their design as having the “warm receptive look of a well-used first baseman’s mitt.”
Although the seat makes use of the same bentwood technique the Eameses pioneered using their famous “Kazam! Machine” (a handmade apparatus for molding plywood) for their DCW chairs, it tops off this frame with supple leather over a plump, upholstered shape. Ever fascinated by ergonomics, the Eameses carefully calibrated the pitch of the seat. It has enough flexibility for comfort but not so much that stability is sacrificed. This precise shape comes by way of three connected plywood pieces, which, on early models is covered in five layers of Brazilian rosewood; owing to an early 1990s-era embargo on the material, however, the Brazilian rosewood has since been replaced with either ash, walnut or palisander. The accompanying ottoman is the icing on the comfort cake, inviting the sitter to quite literally kick back and relax.
Today, imitations of the Eames lounge chair and ottoman abound. The seat is currently manufactured by both Herman Miller and Vitra, and when it was launched initially by the former, the supporting marketing blitz emphasized the chair’s versatility — an effort that, given the seat’s current ubiquitousness, was clearly successful.
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Seattle, WA
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- 3rd Gen Eames Lounge Chair 670-671 in Original Chocolate LeatherBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Seattle, WAFully Restored 3rd Gen Eames lounge chair in rosewood shell frames with ottoman, in original chocolate leather cushions. The chair has been restored and refinished in lacquer. Metal ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Rosewood
- Restored 3rd Gen Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman in Original black LeatherBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Seattle, WA3rd Gen Eames lounge chair with ottoman fully restored. New shock mounts, restored original Black Leather and oiled shells, re-polished steel frame.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Plywood
- 1st Gen 1956-1959 Eames Lounge Chair and Boot Glide OttomanBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Seattle, WARare and collectible 1958 Eames lounge chair with ottoman, model 670-671 includes all distinct 1st generation details, restored and reupholstered by Herman Miller. 1st gen details: ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
MaterialsPlywood
- Set of 4 First Edition Eames Evans DCM ChairsBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Seattle, WAFour Early DCM chairs designed by Charles & Ray Eames for Evans, distributed by Herman Miller. Labels remain intact on all four chairs. Shock mounts has been replaced and the chairs ...Category
Vintage 1940s North American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsPlywood
- Ole Wanscher's Colonial Chair and Ottoman in Rosewood, 1950sBy Ole WanscherLocated in Seattle, WAThis is a rare and in exceptional condition Ole Wanscher's Colonial Chair and Ottoman in Rosewood, with original black leather cushions as well as a new set of new Maharam Sorghum brown cushions. Poul Jeppesen in Denmark c1950s and distributed by Illums Bolighus with solid rosewood for the frame, cane seating under black leather cushion seating. Perhaps the most famous design by Ole Wanscher, the Colonial Chair PJ 149 is inspired by 17th century English furniture...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Cane, Rosewood
- George Nelson Coconut Lounge Chair in Maharam Mode Goldenrod FabricsBy George NelsonLocated in Seattle, WAThis is a late 2010s production of the Coconut Chair, Designed by George Nelson's design studio. Introduced in 1956, the Coconut Lounge Chair is one artifact of the burst of crea...Category
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric
- Eames 670 Lounge Chair and 671 OttomanBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYIconic 670 lounge chair and 671 ottoman, designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. A luxuriously soft and comfortable design. Frame showcases the...Category
Mid-20th Century American Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Rosewood
- Iconic Herman Miller Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, Model 670 & 671By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in San Diego, CAAuthentic and iconic Herman Miller / Eames walnut and black leather lounge chair and ottoman (model's 670 & 671), circa 2004. The set are lightly worn and in condition (with the exce...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWalnut, Leather
- Vintage 1960's Herman Miller Eames Lounge and Ottoman 670 & 671By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Chalk Hill, PAVintage 1960's Herman Miller Eames Lounge and Ottoman 670 & 671. A very nice, all original example. The wood is in great condition with no chips or notable issues. The leather has mi...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Iconic Herman Miller Eames Rosewood Lounge Chair and Ottoman, Model 670 & 671By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in San Diego, CAAuthentic and iconic Herman Miller / Eames rosewood and black leather lounge chair and ottoman (model's 670 & 671), circa 1978. The set are lightly worn and in amazing original vinta...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Rosewood
- Vintage Rosewood Leather Eames Herman Miller 670 671 Lounge Chair and OttomanBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in New York, NYIconic masterpiece from the mid century period, designed by Charles and Ray Eames, made by Herman Miller. This example features the desirable rosewood shell, and it is in its original brown leather upholstery. The chair and ottoman are both in very good original condition, clean and ready to use, showing only light cosmetic wear normal and consistent with age. If you’re looking for an original Eames chair...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Rosewood
- Eames 670 Lounge Chair & 671 Ottoman in Beata Heuman Linen CottonBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in SAINT LOUIS, MOThis classic Eames Lounge and Ottoman expertly restored in Beata Heuman's 'Willow' fabric. We love the juxtaposition of this mid-century icon and the more traditional toile. The set is from the early 1970s in rosewood. Labels on underside. "The Eames Lounge Chair...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
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 16 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about to how they came to be.
The 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Trusted Global Delivery