The Story of Eames Furniture

In this unique publication, Marilyn andJohn Neuhart tell the story, to paraphraseCharles Eames himself, of how Eames furnituregot to be the way it is. The Story ofEames Furniture is a biography —not of anindividual person, but of arguably the mostinfluential and important furniture brandof our time. Brimming with more than2,500 images and insider information, thistwo-volume book in a slipcase sheds newlight on the context in which the furnitureof Charles and Ray Eames was created. Itdocuments in unparalleled detail how thedesign process in the Eames Office developedas well as the significant roles playedby specific designers and manufacturers.Volume 1 presents the early years of theEames Office and its method of furnituredesign and development. It introduces notonly Charles and Ray Eames, but also keymembers of their design team including EeroSaarinen, Harry Bertoia, Herbert Matter, andothers —a widely diverse group of peoplewho did the day-by-day work on the furnitureprojects and who together ultimatelyturned contemporary design in a new direction.This volume also focuses on CharlesEames’s early work with plywood and how headapted plywood-molding techniques into asystem to mass-produce furniture.Volume 2 features the period from theaftermath of the Second World War through1978, the year of Charles Eames’s death andof the effective, functional end of the EamesOffice. By explaining the pioneering industrialprocesses used with innovative materialssuch as fiberglass, wire, and aluminum, itprovides incomparable insight into how newtechnologies served as the genesis for themost interesting pieces of Eames furniture.This volume also focuses on the role of theHerman Miller Furniture Company in the evolution of furniture design at the EamesOffice and investigates the influence of DonAlbinson, who was Charles Eames’s primarydesigner and technician from the mid-1940sto 1960.The Story of Eames Furniture celebratesCharles Eames’s vanguard cultural achievementof giving modern society the opportunityof materializing its identity throughfurniture design that, even today, still topsbestseller lists and has not lost any of itsoriginal elegance, timelessness, freshness,and quality. Read more