Midcentury Table Vitra Ray and Charles Eames, 1980s
About the Item
- Creator:Charles and Ray Eames (Designer),Vitra (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 28.75 in (73 cm)Diameter: 27.56 in (70 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1989
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Praha, CZ
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2456317076181
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.
Vitra
Design house Vitra has garnered international recognition for more than 70 years — the Swiss family-owned furniture company has outfitted public spaces as well as residential properties and offices worldwide. It has been a proponent of modernist design since the 1950s. While the brand is heralded for its collaborations with mid-century modern icons such as Verner Panton, Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard and others, Vitra’s German campus is also home to buildings designed by legendary architects Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry. Among them is the Vitra Design Museum, an independent cultural institution that displays two centuries of design today.
Vitra was established in Weil Am Rhein, Germany, in 1950 by husband and wife team Willi and Erika Fehlbaum. On a trip to New York several years later, Willi Fehlbaum encountered the work of design polymaths Ray and Charles Eames in a furniture store and immediately knew that he had found his bliss.
In 1957, Vitra entered into a licensing agreement with Herman Miller, which saw the company producing designs by George Nelson, the Eameses and others. Later, Vitra partnered with Verner Panton and created the Panton chair, which was the first chair ever crafted from a single piece of molded plastic (it was also the first piece to be independently developed by Vitra). After 27 years of establishing the Vitra brand, the Fehlbaums passed control to their two sons, Rolf and Raymond Fehlbaum.
When a fire destroyed the factory in 1981, the brothers developed the Vitra Factory Campus, subsequently taking the opportunity to redirect the architectural landscape of the company. They created a masterplan with Nicholas Grimshaw, and together they erected four buildings in just a few short years.
In 1988, with the passing of Ray Eames and the disbandment of the Los Angeles Eames office, Rolf and Raymond acquired the furniture design portion of her estate, including the Eames prototypes and experimental models, housed today in the Vitra Design Museum.
Rolf and Roy opened the Vitra Design Museum in 1989. This began a period rich with design relationships, including collaborations with Antonio Citterio, Jasper Morrison, Maarten van Severen, Philippe Starck, Alberto Meda and others.
In 2012, leadership passed to Nora, the third generation of the Fehlbaums. Nora Fehlbaum has, like her grandparents, expanded the company and brought it into the 21st century with the acquisition of Finnish furniture manufacturer Artek. Nora has turned the company’s focus to sustainability yet still maintains its international and cultural relevance legacy.
Find a collection of Vitra lounge chairs, tables, side chairs, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Litoměřice, Czech Republic
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Vitra, EA 107By Charles and Ray Eames, VitraLocated in Praha, CZ- Charles & Ray Eames - Marked by original label - Very comfortable - Leatherette - Has minor signs of use - Chrome in very good condition.Category
Early 2000s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsChrome
- Midcentury Coffee Table, Leda Lux, 1980sLocated in Praha, CZMade in Czechoslovakia Made of Wood Re-polished Good Original condition.Category
Vintage 1980s Czech Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- 1980s Resin and Stone Chrome Plated Coffee Table, GermanyLocated in Praha, CZ- Repolished resin top desk - Chrome plated parts with minor signs of useCategory
Vintage 1980s Czech Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsStone, Chrome
- Midcentury Tulip Table in Style of Eero SaarinenBy Vitra, Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Praha, CZ- Very practical - Iconic design.Category
Vintage 1970s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- 1980s Steel and Glass Side Table by Friedrich Moller for Ronald Schmitt TischeBy F. Moller, Ronald SchmittLocated in Praha, CZ- Good original condition with minor sign of use.Category
Vintage 1980s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Midcentury Glass Table Lamp, 1980sLocated in Praha, CZ- 1980s - never used - perfect original condition.Category
Vintage 1980s Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsGlass
- Herman Miller white ETR coffee table designed by Charles and Ray EamesBy Charles and Ray Eames, VitraLocated in Athens, AttikiHerman Miller white ETR coffee table designed by Charles and Ray Eames,1951. ETR was the abbreviated name of the Elliptical (E) Table (T) on a Rod (R) base. Long really means long in the case of ETR (226cm). But because it’s just under 75cm wide it doesn’t overwhelm the room.It stands very low and has a very distinctive shape which helped coin the alternative name of the Eames ‘Surfboard’ table...Category
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal, Steel
- Conference/Dining Table by Charles & Ray Eames for VitraBy Charles and Ray Eames, VitraLocated in BREDA, NLSpacious Charles & Ray Eames Segmented Base conference table manufactured by Vitra in the 90's. The table features a stunning beech book-matched veneer tabletop in a single piece, id...Category
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Conference Tables
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- Charles and Ray Eames Pair of Coffee TablesBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Milano, ITCharles (1907-1978) and Ray Eames (1912-1988). Pair of coffee tables with rosewood top and ebonized wood legs. Evans Products/Herman Miller, US, late 1940s.Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail T...
MaterialsWood
- Charles & Ray Eames Dining Table or Conference Table 1980sBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in HEVERLEE, BELarge vintage dining table, conference table by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. Nice and sturdy wooden top with a chrome aluminum base. The table is in good original condi...Category
Vintage 1980s American Dining Room Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- CTW Coffee Table by Charles and Ray Eames, United States, 1940sBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Antwerp, BECTW round coffee table by Charles and Ray Eames for Evans Products, a timeless piece of mid-century modern design that echoes the innovation and elegance synonymous with the creative...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut, Plywood
- Vintage coffe table CTW designed by Ray & Charles EamesBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in SAINT-YRIEIX-SUR-CHARENTE, FRCTW coffee table in moulded and painted plywood, designed by Ray and Charles Eames in 1946. From 1994 onwards, the publisher Hermann Miller offered the fourth generation of this mode...Category
1990s Central American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsPlywood
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.