Historic 1959 Fiberglass Eames Side Chairs by Herman Miller, Chrome H-Base
View Similar Items
Historic 1959 Fiberglass Eames Side Chairs by Herman Miller, Chrome H-Base
About the Item
- Creator:Ray Eames (Designer),Herman Miller (Manufacturer),Charles Eames (Designer),Charles and Ray Eames (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80.01 cm)Width: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)Depth: 22 in (55.88 cm)Seat Height: 17.88 in (45.42 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1959
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. non-original upholstery has been removed to reveal well-preserved original fiberglass seats.
- Seller Location:Grand Cayman, KY
- Reference Number:Seller: K0591stDibs: LU5587222806692
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.
- 12 Mario Bellini CAB 412 Chairs in Black Saddle Leather for CassinaBy Mario Bellini, CassinaLocated in Grand Cayman, KYSet of 12 Mario Bellini CAB 412 chairs, made by Cassina in the 1980s. Flexible steel frame covered with a skin of high quality black saddle leather. This elegant, versatile chair is ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- 10 Mario Bellini CAB 413 Armchairs in Black Leather for Cassina, 1980s ItalyBy Cassina, Mario BelliniLocated in Grand Cayman, KYSet of 10 Mario Bellini CAB 413 chairs, made by Cassina. Flexible steel frame covered with a skin of high quality vintage black saddle leather. The chairs, which were already in ve...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- 6 Mario Bellini CAB 413 Armchairs in Black Leather for Cassina, 1980s ItalyBy Mario Bellini, CassinaLocated in Grand Cayman, KYSet of 6 Mario Bellini CAB 413 chairs, made by Cassina. Flexible steel frame covered with a skin of high quality vintage black saddle leather. The chairs, which were already in ver...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- 8 Mario Bellini CAB 413 Armchairs in Black Leather for Cassina, 1980s ItalyBy Cassina, Mario BelliniLocated in Grand Cayman, KYSet of 8 Mario Bellini CAB 413 chairs, made by Cassina. Flexible steel frame covered with a skin of high quality vintage black saddle leather. The chairs, which were already in ver...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- Fully Restored Medea Side Chair in Medium Exotic Hardwood, Nobili, 1955 ItalyBy Vittorio NobiliLocated in Grand Cayman, KY'Medea' chair, designed by Italian designer Vittorio Nobili for Tagliabue, Italy 1955. Molded medium brown exotic hardwood ply shell in a delectable satin oil finish accented with hi...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Fully Restored Medea Side Chair in Dark Exotic Hardwood, Nobili, 1955 ItalyBy Vittorio NobiliLocated in Grand Cayman, KY'Medea' chair, designed by Italian designer Vittorio Nobili for Tagliabue, Italy 1955. Molded dark brown exotic hardwood ply shell in a delectable satin oil finish accented with high...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Original Vintage Eames Fiberglass Shell Dining Side Chairs for Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in San Jose, CAMid Century Modern DSS stacking dining side chairs designed by Ray and Charles Eames for Herman Miller circa 1960s. These collectible molded fiberglass shell seats are available in g...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
$400 Sale Price / item20% Off - Set of 4 Vintage White Fiberglass Eames Chairs by Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Los Angeles, CASet of 4 vintage white fiberglass Eames chairs by Herman Miller. All original, not a recent edition. Stamped under.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Set of 4 Vintage White Fiberglass Eames Chairs by Herman MillerBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Los Angeles, CASet of 4 vintage white fiberglass Eames chairs by Herman Miller. All original, not a recent edition. Stamped under.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Eames for Herman Miller Crimson Red Fiberglass Shell ChairBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYOriginal 1960s red fiberglass shell side chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. The scarce candy red colored shell has its original finish with distinct thread te...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Eames for Herman Miller Ultramarine Blue Fiberglass Shell ChairBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYOriginal 1960s molded fiberglass shell chairs in Ultramarine Blue, designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. Gleaming shells are in original condition, each with a distinc...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Six Stacking Chairs, Charles & Ray Eames, Herman Miller, Red Fiberglass, 1974.By Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Hausmannstätten, ATA set of six stackable dining room chairs by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman Miller, manufactured in midcentury, 1974. The chairs are labe...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
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.
These Museum-Worthy Star Armchairs Are Exemplars of 1980s Design
Meticulously crafted in Germany, the limited-edition seat has been acquired by several institutions, including the Met in New York.